The normalization of travel between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be safe and orderly to ensure that everything will be back on track as soon as possible and practicable, says Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. He made the remarks on Wednesday at the opening of the two-day 2023 Asian Financial Forum, organized by the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, with participants from more than 70 countries and regions attending nearly 20 international delegations. Lee noted that Hong Kong has been progressively and systematically opening up itself to the world in the past few months, and launched the first phase of the resumption of quarantine-free travel with the mainland on Jan 8. “Travelers are no longer required to undergo hotel quarantine after entering the mainland from Hong Kong. That means it is much more convenient for business people, investors, tourists and, of course, Hong Kong people who have longed for reunions with their family members on the mainland after being separated for some three years,” he said. “You can be rest assured we will go fast in a safe and orderly manner to achieve our shared goal of getting everything back on track as soon as possible and practicable.” The HKSAR government scrapped the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement for incoming travelers in September last year, paving the way for the city to host a three-day international investment summit for the first time in three years. The event was attended by more than 200 financial and business leaders from some 120 financial institutions. “With the HKSAR government’s further relaxation of anti-pandemic measures last month, I am pleased to see many of you having travelled to our vibrant city to join us,” HKTDC Chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok told the forum. “It has been three years since the start of a public health crisis that no one could foresee. As the economy continues to recover gradually, we now have the opportunity to back up the global economy,” he said. This year’s Asian Financial Forum has invited more than 100 global business leaders, policymakers, financial and wealth management professionals, entrepreneurs, technology innovators and economists to share their insights on international finance and economy, trade, sustainability and other issues. There are more than 2,000 live participants, with 3,000 others attending the event online.
2023-01-11中国日报12月11日电 由中国日报和亚洲新闻联盟主办的“动感亚洲”摄影展于12月9日在香港跑马地V54举行了开幕式,这是该活动于今年11月APEC期间在泰国曼谷举办首场展览后的第二站。 据悉,香港展展期为12月8日至11日,周五的开幕交流活动吸引了多个国家的驻港总领事,资深摄影人、文化艺术机构负责人、资深评论员、智库机构人士参与。 中国日报社副总编辑、亚太分社社长兼总编辑周立先生在开幕式上表示,过去三年各国人民都经历了许多,这场全球公共卫生危机证明了,在任何时候全人类的命运都是休戚与共的,抗疫过程中也展现出人民之间的团结和相互支持,人类的命运也紧密联系在一起,解决人类共同面临的难题需要各国携手合作。 古物谘询委员会主席苏彰德观看展览后表示,很高兴能在香港看到这样的图片展,让我看到过去几年在不同国家的生活模式,很值得我们去了解。 文莱驻港总领事阿纳托利·扎希·穆罕默德表示,很遗憾这次没有文莱的摄影师稿件入选,但这些照片也让她回想起来过去几年的抗疫场景。她还介绍说,文莱已经一年没有新冠病毒感染了,在抗疫中表现优异,也欢迎大家可以有更多的交流往来。 孟加拉国驻港副领事马祖克伊斯兰在看完图片后认为,这些图片都传递出一个信息,我们应该铭记历史并从中吸取经验和教训。 摄影展所在的V54也充满艺术氛围。V54是建于1920年代的三级历史建筑,由保良局前主席梁安琪太平绅士慷慨借出以推动青年創意教育而推行了“青年艺术家驻村”计划,为青年艺术家提供食宿以帮助他们心无旁骛进行艺术创作。 此次“动感亚洲”系列摄影展有来自中国,缅甸,菲律宾,土耳其,韩国,印尼,伊朗,俄罗斯,孟加拉,巴勒斯坦,老挝,阿联酋,柬埔寨,印度,不丹,马来西亚,泰国和越南共18个国家的179名摄影师参与,共收到1,175幅摄影作品投稿。
2022-12-11HONG KONG – A photo exhibition capturing the changes in Asian people’s daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraging people to move forward opened in Hong Kong on Friday. Co-organized by China Daily and the Asia News Network, the Changing Asia — New Normal photography exhibition runs through Dec 11. The photos document what life has been like across Asia, in times of lockdowns, vaccinations, and quarantine. They also record how the public health crisis has affected the region’s culture and heritage, the way people have lived and learned, and how international events have been shaped. Prominent figures, including consulate general officials of eight countries, think tank leaders, senior commentators, and heads of arts and cultural institutions, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Friday. Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific, said at the ceremony that the pandemic has demonstrated the reality that human beings are bound together in good and bad times alike. It has also pointed to the need to build a community with a shared future, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping nine years ago and has been a guiding principle for China's participation in international governance, he said. Md Marzuk Islam, vice consul of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said he was amazed by the exhibition. He said the photos carry a message that human beings can remember the past and learn from it. In the future, he hopes that global communities can unite and support each other to make the world a better place. Ana Dubraska Garcia, consul general of Venezuela in the HKSAR, said China Daily offers a good opportunity for more people to appreciate these valuable pictures, and said she hopes that Venezuela can continue maintaining a good relationship with China in future collaborations. Earlier, the organizers invited professional photographers from Asia to submit photos taken in the past three years under the theme “Changing Asia — New Normal”. The project received more than 1,000 photos from 179 photographers. Total 78 photos were selected for the exhibition from 18 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Palestine, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. This exhibition was held in Bangkok, Thailand from Nov 16-20, coinciding with the city’s hosting of the leaders’ meeting of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
2022-12-10City to advance as a patent trading hub with support of nation and close regional ties Hong Kong and the whole of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are well-placed to become a key center in a global economy that is increasingly driven by intangible assets. This was the view expressed by government officials and business leaders at the 12th Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum held on Thursday and Friday, organized by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the Hong Kong Design Centre. Themed “Creating New Value, Discovering New Frontiers”, the two-day forum brought together global IP experts and business leaders to discuss the latest trends and opportunities in the Asian IP market as well as IP developments in the industrial metaverse. The event attracted 70 high-profile global IP experts from 12 countries and regions. In a keynote speech, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu described IP as “the oil of the 21st century” in his opening remarks, saying it will be critical to bringing innovation and the business world together and powering a knowledge-based economy. “Our country’s national 14th Five-year Plan (2021-25) firmly supports Hong Kong’s rise as a regional IP trading center. It is one of the eight important sectors to drive our future development, and to lead the way in – for the mainland and for the Asian region as a whole,” Lee said. The chief executive said the government will work to implement the international trademark registration system, and update the copyright regime. The government will enhance the city’s patent examiners’ capability so that by 2030, they will have the institutional autonomy to conduct substantive patent examinations for strengthening crossboundary IP protection. It will also provide IP training for some 5,000 practitioners across various industries over the next five years, according to Lee. The chief executive told the forum that Hong Kong’s infrastructure and capabilities for research and development continue to expand and innovate. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index this year, Hong Kong ranks 14th, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou science and technology cluster ranks second. “This is a bright reflection of the broader Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area and its determination to rise as one of the world’s great innovation and technology centers, with Hong Kong playing a pivotal role in its progress,” Lee said. Addressing the same event, Shen Changyu, commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, said that “the central government policy is to help Hong Kong to develop as an original IP trading hub.” “In IP examination, talent cultivation and information systems, we offer necessary favors to Hong Kong. We set up the IP alternate qualification examination center in Hong Kong and are planning favorable arrangements for Hong Kong IP applicants to the mainland jurisdiction,” Shen said. “All of those efforts are to promote the synergy effect between the mainland and Hong Kong in IP development.” Shen also announced that a pilot project for prioritizing the examination of qualified invention-patent applications filed by Hong Kong applicants on the Chinese mainland will be launched on Jan 1. The pilot project aims to facilitate Hong Kong applicants in seeking patent protection on the Chinese mainland to safeguard against the exploitation and commercialization of their inventions. It will be jointly rolled out by the CNIPA, the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong, and the intellectual property authorities of Guangdong province and Shenzhen. Under the project, Hong Kong applicants for invention-patent applications that meet the criteria may request prioritized examination of their applications by the CNIPA. Requests can be submitted to the CNIPA’s representative office in Guangzhou or Shenzhen. Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Daren Tang Heng Shim highlighted the increasingly important role that intangible assets will play in Hong Kong’s future economic growth. First, a growing number of Hong Kong-listed firms will be able to derive most of the value for their intangible assets, according to Tang. “Nine of the top 15 mainland firms ranked by intangible asset intensity, now trade shares in Hong Kong.” “Patent and trademark pledge financing on the mainland in 2021 passed the 300-billion-yuan ($42.7 billion) mark, up 40 percent year-on-year. Given Hong Kong’s financial expertise and geostrategic location, Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area are well-placed to play a leading role in the development of IP finance,” Tang said. “Trade flows linked to knowledge and digitalization grew twice as fast as trade flows relating to goods, with IP data and digital services leading the way for an economy like Hong Kong,” the WIPO chief added. Trademark activity in Hong Kong grew by close to 10 percent in 2021 which doubled the global average. The number of patents filed by Hong Kong residents around the world has increased 50 percent, in the areas of digital communications and computer technology, according to Tang. “With a strong IP protection regime, efficient IP commercialization, deep and liquid capital and sound judicial system, Hong Kong is uniquely placed to foster a vigorous IP ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area, the rest of the Chinese mainland, and Asia at large,” said Margaret Fong Shun-man, executive director of the HKTDC.
2022-12-03In the highly immersive and hypnotically engrossing digital artscape, the line between “real” and “virtual” is blurred. The once clearcut categorization of art genres becomes fuzzy. While this enables the artistic envelope to be pushed more easily and expansively, it doesn’t translate to a higher tolerance for intellectual property infringement and stakeholders in the industry have to decode the answer in no time, said panelists at the 12th Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum on Friday. There’s been a paradigm shift in mindset and sensibility to art and culture in recent years throughout institutions, museums, galleries and in individual artists in Hong Kong, from emphasizing “industry-based thinking” to “events-based thinking,” said Celina Chin, executive director of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, at the forum themed “HK’s Ambitious Cultural and Arts Hub Plan Unveils Vast Opportunities for IP industries”, co-organized by China Daily. The artistic envelope is not only being pushed physically — joining up with museums and co-organizing myriad activities with their counterparts in other countries, adds Chin — but also through merging and meshing of various art forms which are seemingly independent. A case in point was the recent “Ji” Concert held in July. “It is by no means a traditional ordinary concert featuring only the orchestra and conductor on stage. Instead, it involved lots of artists, including dancers, tai chi masters, a children’s choir, as well as behind-the-stage teams, such as set design, lighting design and costume design…” said Chin. That a mélange of artists from assorted art genres worked together to deliver the ultimately astonishing artistic punch means that it “involves a lot of IP” in the entire production, said Chin, which makes artistic IP protection all the more important, pressing and challenging. Putting most art productions online during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled major art and cultural players, like HKCO, to ponder over how to safeguard artists’ IP afresh. “We had to consult professionals and settle the IP issues with all the composers and different types of artists and art directors (in one single production) before we could finally go ahead with releasing the program online,” Chin said. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s reorganization of virtual assets, while it’s more relevant to the financial sector, is encouraging news for art and cultural stakeholders, said Heiman Ng, head of business development at Digital Art Fair. “We are on the right track in continuing pushing the boundary when it comes to art creation,” said Ng. A prime example of how savvy Chinese contemporary artists are employing cutting-edge technologies to perfect their artistic potency as well as cashing in on the roaring non-fungible tokens art trend, cited by Ng, is Life Fantasy, a collection by Jacky Tsai and pop singer Jay Chou, presented in Digital Art Air Hong Kong in September. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and pop music, bolstered by augmented reality technology, allows visitors a sensory immersive experience. The future of art and cultural landscape will be dominated by the NFT market, which is beckoning against the ‘crypto crush’, Ng predicts. The NFT market is no guarantee to secure IP ownership. Still riddled with loopholes and unsolved puzzles, the nascent NFT art scene has no shortage of complaints from “artists or original creators about being ripped off and (illegitimate) ‘copy and paste’ tactics even though they have minted their work on the blockchain,'' said Ng. “There are plenty of serious copyright infringement issues. Understandably, it’s just the beginning of the market and all stakeholders are putting in effort to optimize the market. I’d like to send the message here, ‘We’ll be here supporting all the artists, galleries and institutions, setting good examples of how we do the KYC (know your customer) for them’ ”, said Ng. Helen So, lead of arts and culture at Our Hong Kong Foundation, used South Korea’s cultural policies as an example to explain why Hong Kong should put more effort into intellectual property creation, licensing as well as trading to gear the city up for a global hub of cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. So highlighted the contribution of the South Korean administration to the success. The copyright bureau alone -- excluding other media and arts bureaus in South Korea -- injected about HK$539 million ($69.27 million) into copyright-related programs in 2021, while Hong Kong had a HK$217 million budget on all IP matters during the same period, So said. “Copyright and IP need to be part of today’s cultural policy-making,” she said. “We could have further collaborations with these existing infrastructures to see if we could open up copyright information for cultural IP to better let Hong Kong’s culture and creative assets be properly recognized, valued and respected all around the world.” Jeffrey Shaw, chair professor at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, said future cinema systems would be a major focus of the next generation of art technologies. Shaw is leading a team to develop the future cinema systems project, which will “push the boundaries of intelligent interaction technology in conjunction with media and art industry and cultural partners”. “The grand challenge of the project is to transform the cinema … as (it will create) a new dimension of interactive, immersive, computational and intelligent experience,” he said.
2022-12-03In the highly immersive and hypnotically engrossing digital artscape, the line between “real” and “virtual” is blurred. The once clear-cut categorization of art genres becomes fuzzy. While this enables the artistic envelope to be pushed more easily and expansively, it doesn’t translate to a higher tolerance for intellectual property infringement and stakeholders in the industry have to decode the answer in no time, said panelists at the 12th Business of IP Asia Forum on Friday. There’s been a paradigm shift in mindset and sensibility to art and culture in recent years throughout institutions, museums, galleries and in individual artists in Hong Kong, from emphasizing “industry-based thinking” to “events-based thinking,” said Celina Chin, executive director of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, at the forum themed “HK’s Ambitious Cultural and Arts Hub Plan Unveils Vast Opportunities for IP industries”, co-organized by China Daily. The artistic envelope is not only being pushed physically — joining up with museums and co-organizing myriad activities with their counterparts in other countries, adds Chin — but also through merging and meshing of various art forms which are seemingly independent. A case in point is a recent “Ji” Concert held in July. “It is by no means a traditional ordinary concert featuring only the orchestra and conductor on stage. Instead, it involved lots of artists, including dancers, tai chi masters, a children’s choir, as well as behind-the-stage teams, such as set design, lighting design and costume design…” said Chin. That a mélange of artists from assorted art genres worked together to deliver the ultimately astonishing artistic punch means that it “involves a lot of IP” in the entire production, said Chin, which makes artistic IP protection all the more important, pressing and challenging. Putting most art productions online during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled major art and cultural players, like HKCO, to ponder over how to safeguard artists’ IP afresh. “We had to consult professionals and settle the IP issues with all the composers and different types of artists and art directors (in one single production) before we could finally go ahead with releasing the program online,” Chin said. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s reorganization of virtual assets, while it’s more relevant to the financial sector, is encouraging news for art and cultural stakeholders, said Heiman Ng, head of business development at Digital Art Fair. “We are on the right track in continuing pushing the boundary when it comes to art creation,” said Ng. A prime example of how savvy Chinese contemporary artists are employing cutting-edge technologies to perfect their artistic potency as well as cashing in on the roaring non-fungible tokens art trend, cited by Ng, is Life Fantasy, a collection by Jacky Tsai and pop singer Jay Chou, presented in Digital Art Air Hong Kong in September. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and pop music, bolstered by augmented reality technology, allow visitors a sensory immersive experience. The future of art and cultural landscape will be dominated by the NFT market, which is beckoning against the ‘crypto crush’, Ng predicts. The NFT market is no guarantee to secure IP ownership. Still riddled with loopholes and unsolved puzzles, the nascent NTF art scene has no shortage of complaints from “artists or original creators about being ripped off and (illegitimate) ‘copy and paste’ tactics even though they have minted their work on the blockchain, said Ng. “There are plenty of serious copyright infringement issues. Understandably, it’s just the beginning of the market and all stakeholders are putting in effort to optimize the market. I’d like to send the message here, ‘We’ll be here supporting all the artists, galleries and institutions, setting good examples of how we do the KYC (know your customer) for them’ ”, said Ng. Helen So, lead of arts and culture at Our Hong Kong Foundation, used South Korea’s cultural policies as an example to explain that Hong Kong should put more effort into intellectual property creation, licensing as well as trading to gear the city up for a global hub of cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. It is estimated that South Korea’s cultural content market will be worth $70.9 billion in 2023, which will be the seventh-largest in the world, according to the national investment promotion agency Invest Korea. This is compared to $67.9 billion this year. So highlighted the contribution of the South Korean administration to the success. The copyright bureau alone -- excluding other media and arts bureaus in South Korea -- injected about HK$539 million ($69.27 million) into copyright-related programs in 2021, while Hong Kong had a HK$217 million budget on all IP matters during the same period, So said. So noted the Ministry of Culture in South Korea also established a digital copyright exchange in 2007 by working with stakeholders of the cultural industry, such as copyright holders, distributors and collective management organizations, to allow anyone who registered on the platform to trade and upload their works. “Copyright and IP need to be part of today’s cultural policymaking,” she said. “We could have further collaborations with these existing infrastructures to see if we could open up copyright information for cultural IP to better let Hong Kong’s culture and creative assets to be properly recognized, valued and respected all around the world.” Jeffrey Shaw, chair professor at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, said future cinema systems would be a major focus of the next generation of art technologies. Shaw is leading a team to develop the future cinema systems project, which will “push the boundaries of intelligent interaction technology in conjunction with media and art industry and cultural partners”. “The grand challenge of the project is to transform the cinema … as (it will create) a new dimension of interactive, immersive, computational and intelligent experience,” he said.
2022-12-02Hong Kong, 31 October 2022 – Cyberport’s premier annual venture capital event, the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (Forum) was successfully concluded on 28 October 2022. The forum was held again in a hybrid mode, gathering over 100 international venture capital experts, investors, venture companies and the Cyberport start-up community for two consecutive days. The forum, together with the Smart Living Venture Day, the Startup Workshop and the Startup Clinic, attracted around 2,500 participants and about 110,000 page views on the online platform. In addition, the forum also facilitated over 300 one-on-one meeting between investors and start-ups. Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, said, "Venture capital funds and investors play a crucial role in helping start-ups grow and prosper, and transforming Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. Despite the current fund raising challenges, many of our venture capital fund partners are still active. Together with Government’s recent initiatives including the Strategic Tech Fund, we are confident on the sustained growth in Hong Kong’s I&T sector. Cyberport will continue to promote and facilitate the connection of start-ups with investors with a view to expanding their business networks, turning the fruits of their innovations into business opportunities, facilitating the living of citizens, and creating a triple win for start-ups, investors and the society.” Over 20 scholars, industry practitioners, investors and start-ups were invited to participate in the Smart Living Venture Day, which was held for the first time this year. Four forums were held around EdTech, ArtTech, GeronTech and SocialTech. The themes are "Transforming Education with Technology", "Reimagination of the Artistic World: Opportunities and Challenges", "Engineer an Innovative Retirement Life: GeronTech & HealthTech" and "To Make a Change in the Society – A Sustainable Model in Redistributing Resources", which explore the market demand, challenges and impact of the four types of technology on society, as well as the development of start-ups and the future of venture capital in smart living. Guest speakers included Prof Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Tsang, Founder of Esperanza; Jennifer Ma, Group Chief Strategy Officer of CTF Education Group; Sunnie Lau, Director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hong Kong Innovation Node; Dr Joseph Wong, Executive Director, Hong Kong Design Centre; Dr Joseph Coughlin, Director of MIT AgeLab; Dr Carmen Ng, General Manager (Elderly Services) of the Hong Kong Housing Society; Jacky Kwan, Chairman of Zebra Wellness Group and Chairman of Primary Care Education Foundation; Gilad Rosenzweig, Executive Director of MITDesignX; Dr. Tat Lam, CEO of SZC Holdings, and a group of start-up representatives. Hendrick Sin, Chairperson of Cyberport Investor Network Steering Group said, “As Hong Kong's digital technology flagship and incubator, Cyberport is committed to nurturing digital technology talent, promoting the development of the digital technology industry, and facilitating the integration of the new economy with the traditional economy. Cyberport actively organises the Forum to connect investors and start-ups with the venture capital community to raise capital and promote innovation and entrepreneurship." In addition, the Forum this year again featured Start-up Workshop sessions hosted by seasoned investors from Amino Capital, AngelHub and The Purposeful Project, offering practical tips and strategies to entrepreneurs with topics such as extending runway and leading in uncertain times; investing in Web3 in a bear market, exploring opportunities in the circular economy and the secret to building a successful business. At the Start-up Clinic, members from Cyberport Professional Services Network including CW CPA, Egon Zehnder, Ernst & Young, The Hoffman Agency, OPo Technology and Trinity Bridge Asia provided free interactive consultation services for addressing essential entrepreneurial issues of start-ups. Along with over 100 virtual exhibition booths, the integrated online event platform of the Forum , will remain open until 16 November for start-ups to showcase their innovative technology solutions, network with industry peers, explore business opportunities and watch the Forum contents on demand. Online investor matching session will continue until 7 November. For review detailed information on related seminars and a complete line-up of speakers of 2022 Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2022, please visit the website: http://cvcf.cyberport.hk/ For media enquiries, please contact: Cyberport Wong Tsz Hin Tel: (852) 3166 2835 Email: zacwongth@cyberport.hk Yuan Tung Financial Relations Agnes Yiu Tel:(852)3428 5690 Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk About Cyberport Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,800 members, including over 800 onsite and 1000 offsite start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, wholly owned by the Hong 5 Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology, thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting start-ups, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economic by accelerating digital transformation in the public and private sectors. For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk
2022-10-31Guests of a local youth forum highlighted the enormous opportunities arising from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the technology, finance and culture and sports sectors, and called on Hong Kong’s young minds to build strength and courage to forge their way ahead. They shared the insights at the “Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference” GBA Youth Development Forum 2022 on Monday. Co-organized by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, the event attracted more than 700 young people, including high school students and undergraduates. Delivering a speech at the event, Daryl Ng Win-kong, chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, who has been involved in youth affairs for many years, said the Greater Bay Area has huge development potential. More and more high-level cooperation platforms, such as Qianhai in Shenzhen, Nansha in Guangzhou, and the Northern-Metropolis in Hong Kong, provide wide support in entrepreneurial services, including funding, training, and exchange opportunities. With favorable policies offered by Chinese mainland cities, and deepening intercity traffic links in the region, Ng said the Greater Bay Area presents Hong Kong young people with “unprecedented” development opportunities to build their dreams. Officiating at the event, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai cited President Xi Jinping’s July 1 speech that the development of a nation is inseparable from focusing on youth, gathering talents and seeking innovation. He noted that the Greater Bay Area blueprint is a major national development strategy of reform and opening-up in a new era, and encouraged young people of Hong Kong to keep an open mind, equip themselves and seize opportunities in the promising cluster. With the nation’s support, young people will have enormous opportunities to realize their dreams with a view to making a contribution to the nation, serving Hong Kong, and becoming pillars of the world, Tsang said. Echoing Tsang’s words, Zhang Zhihua, director general of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said he hopes that all Hong Kong community sectors can make use of the promising platform of the Greater Bay Area to nurture local youths and help the underprivileged by providing internship and employment opportunities. The forum, which featured three themed panel discussions held both online and on-site, brought together youth leaders to share their views on how the continuous development of the Greater Bay Area will benefit Hong Kong youngsters in the technology, finance and cultural and sports areas. Speaking during the panel discussion on “New Realm of Innovative Technology”, Hendrick Sin, the co-founder, executive director and vice-chairman of CMGE Technology Group Ltd, shared his entrepreneurial journey and introduced the preferential measures that have been launched by local authorities in the Greater Bay Area, such as business incubation schemes and venture funds. Particularly upbeat about the future of mobile games and esports developments, he said he hopes Hong Kong and Guangdong province can deepen collaboration on related talent cultivation and form an esports ecological chain. He also encouraged Hong Kong to tap into the fresh opportunities in the metaverse and non-fungible tokens and establish its own advantages. Cindy Chow, executive director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, noted that Hong Kong’s position as a financial center remains strong. She said she hopes that the government will provide more support to enable startups to develop better in the Greater Bay Area. Startup leaders also need to have the courage and innovative thinking to adapt their product positioning to the changing environment. Kenneth Fok, member of the Legislative Council in the Functional Constituency for Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication, said that to further Hong Kong’s mission of developing into a global cultural hub, the Asian culture widely accepted by the global market is something that Hong Kong can explore and leverage. Young people in Hong Kong can make good use of the city’s convergence of Chinese and Western cultures to better tell Chinese stories, he noted.
2022-10-28【Press Release】 [HONG KONG, 24 OCTOBER 2022] Organised by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, co-organised by HKET Holdings and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, the “Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference” GBA Youth Development Forum 2022 (‘the Forum”) was held today at the Conrad Hotel. Bringing together youth leaders from across Hong Kong, the Forum highlighted opportunities in the GBA for young people in the fields of innovation and technology, fintech, culture and sports. More than 700 young people, including high school students and undergraduates attended (also through online) to learn about pursuing a career or further studies in the Greater Bay Area, where they can fulfil their true potential. Officiating at the Forum were Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhang Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Deputy Chairman of Sino Group), Dr Hu Zhanghong, JP, CEO of Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments Limited and Director of the Financial Services Development Council, and Ms Salome See Sau-mei, Group Managing Director of Hong Kong Economic Times Holdings and Managing Director of ET Net. Other guests attended were Mr Kenneth Fok, Executive Vice Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Member of the Legislative Council, Vice President of the Fok Ying Tung Group), and Vice Chairmen of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation included Mr Adam Kwok (Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited), Mr Christopher Kwok (Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited), Mr Alex Yeung (Vice Chairman of Emperor Group) and Mr Calvin Choi (Chairman of AMTD Group), as well as Mr Vincent Yu, Managing Director of China Merchants Capital and Mr Yang Bin, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation. Guest speakers who delivered keynote speeches: (In no particular order) 1. Mr Hendrick Sin, Co-founder, Executive Director and Vice Chairman of CMGE Technology Group Limited 2. Mr Michael Li, Co-founder & Director of Titanology Limited 3. Mr Stark Chan, Founder of Bull.B Technology Limited 4. Mr Eric Yeung, Founding President of Esports Association Hong Kong 5. Ms Cindy Chow, Executive Director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund 6. Mr Tat Lee, Chief Executive & Executive Director of WeLab Bank 7. Mr Winston Wong, Co-founder & CEO of Qupital 8. Mr Fred Ngan, Co-founder, Co-CEO and Director of Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited 9. Mr Kenneth Fok, Member of the Legislative Council (Functional Constituency - Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication) 10. Mr Mathias Woo, Artistic cum Executive Director, Zuni Icosahedron, Convener of the “HK Belt Road City to City Cultural Exchange Conference” 11. Mr William Keong, Executive Director of Manner Culture Limited 12. Ms Prudence Mak, Founder & Creative Director of Chocolate Rain 13. Ms Vincci Hui, Former Olympian for Hong Kong Triathlon; 2-time Olympic Games TV Program Host and Commentator The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, GBS,IDSM,JP said, "President Xi Jinping, speaking in Hong Kong on July 1, highlighted the importance of our young people, said, ‘Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive; Hong Kong will develop only when its young people achieve well-rounded development, and Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good prospects’. The development of a nation is inseparable from focusing on youth, gathering talents and seeking innovation. The theme of today's forum, ‘Gathering Young Talents, Making a Difference’, echoes President Xi's call for young people: strive for innovation, develop a strong sense of responsibility, and contribute to the future of Hong Kong and our nation.” Mr Tsang hopes that young people become a new generation who loves Hong Kong and our nation, and participate actively in the integration with the overall development of the nation. Young people should make use of the advantages of "one country, two systems" in creating a bigger stage for development. He also encouraged young people to keep an open mind, equip themselves and seize opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. With the nation's support, young people will have enormous opportunities to realise their dreams with a view to making contribution to the nation, serving Hong Kong, and becoming pillars of the world. Mr Zhang Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, put forward three propositions in his speech: “Firstly, I hope Hong Kong youth can seize the GBA development opportunities and build it up together. By unleashing their potential in a bigger stage, this helps them to step into the world platform; Secondly, I hope that all community sectors will care about the youth, make use of the greater platform of GBA to nurture them and help the underprivileged by providing internship and employment opportunities; Finally, I hope young people will seize the opportunities to integrate into the nation's development and build their dreams in the GBA.” Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, said, “The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area issued by the Central Government in 2019 has made the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the ‘GBA’) a national strategy. With its enormous potential for growth, the GBA offers unprecedented opportunities for Hong Kong Youth. The National 14th Five Year Plan has supported the development of Hong Kong into ‘eight centres’ capitalising on its strengths. Through today’s Forum ‘Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference’, we provided an interactive platform to discuss and promote the continuous development of society. Young people are the future of our society, our Foundation will continue to support and nurture Hong Kong youth to become the pivotal forces in the development of the Greater Bay Area.” Topic 1 - New Realm of Innovative Technology – Fintech Talent to Embrace Enormous Opportunities The rapid development of the GBA has opened up a broader space for young people to seize new development opportunities. Young people interested in innovative technology should adopt professional, candid, pragmatic, and change-oriented attitudes, make good use of the resources provided in the GBA, and industrialise their innovations in a creative and entrepreneurial environment. This Forum allowed young entrepreneurs to better understand the policies and preferential measures available to them in the GBA, such as an incubation programmes and venture capital funds. Topic 2 - New Era in Finance – Digital Technology and Innovation in Financial Services Digital technology is driving innovation in global financial services, changing business models and users' expectations. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong offers a unique environment, backed by Mainland China and open to the world. Hong Kong should leverage on its strengths, for further development in financial technology to create more opportunities for young people. Speakers encouraged young people interested in finance or information technology to use their knowledge in finance, information, operation and management to become the new generation of Fintech talent. Topic 3 - New Perspectives on Culture and Sports - Promote the Diversified and Integrated Development of Culture and Sports As an international city in the GBA, Hong Kong has an important role to play in the development of culture and sports through the integration of hardware, software and ‘heartware’. This panel discussion focused on how Hong Kong can position itself in the GBA to promote the development of cultural and sports industries, to inspire young people and create diversified opportunities for them. Accelerating the two-way exchange of cultural and sports talent between Hong Kong and the Mainland, Hong Kong can become a cultural exchange centre between East and West. Today’s Forum provided an interactive platform for youth leaders from different sectors to discuss the important role of Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area. During their discussions, they shared their views on how the continuous development of the region would benefit Hong Kong youth by allowing them to widen their perspectives, achieve their personal goals and contribute to the sustainable growth of the community. The Forum ended with very positive responses.
2022-10-24Hong Kong, 20 October 2022 – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited is pleased to announce the winners of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (“HERA” or “the Award”). Since commencement in 2018, HERA has witnessed enormous positive shifts in approach and attitude of companies to ESG and related issues. HERA has seen firsthand how more and more companies are promoting ESG values and actively practicing ESG concepts. In the fifth anniversary of the HERA this year, the number of applicants has reached a record high. Over 100 entries competed for a total of 10 awards, including the new “Excellent in Real Estate” award, which is a joint effort of HERA and the global ESG benchmark of the real estate industry – GRESB. Since its establishment, HERA has always recognised enterprises with outstanding performance in ESG Reports, and is committed to not just promoting sustainability performance of companies but also encouraging companies to follow the best practices of corporate ESG disclosure. Tony Wong, founder of Alaya Consulting and the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, stated: “HERA’s commitment to promoting best practices in ESG is aligned with the market trend. Over the years, the winners of HERA have exceeded compliance requirements, and have successfully established the industry benchmark when it comes to disclosure standards. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), established in 2021, is expected to launch two new standards by the end of the year, which will no doubt promote the equal importance of ESG disclosures and financial disclosures. In the future, HERA will continue to shine light on the best ESG practices within the industry, and work with outstanding enterprises in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to promote coordinated development of ESG in the above regions” The winners (see appendix) are selected by an independent panel of judges, comprising of experts from different backgrounds, including business, non-governmental organisations and academia. It was an honour to have the following judges (in alphabetical order) to supervise HERA’s corporate performance evaluation process: Dr. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST, Ms. Lisa Marie Djeng, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Keywise Capital Management (HK) Limited, Mr. Mike Wong, CEO, the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, Mr. Joseph Chan, Head of Communications, and Engagement Section, Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Office (SRSDO), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and Ms. Judy Chen, CFA, Senior Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation. Overall, the judges panel was satisfied with ESG disclosure performance of the applicants and believed that the level of disclosure demonstrated by contenders for the awards was continuously improving, especially in terms of climate-related disclosures. In fact, many of the participating companies have made disclosures based on the TCFD framework and formulated corresponding quantitative indicators. The judges panel also encourages participating companies to increasingly incorporate ESG into their business strategies. Recognising that the current market is continuously affected by many uncertainties, a high level of ESG disclosure and dedication to adopting ESG best practices can help enhance companies’ competitiveness while also improving their resilience to the volatility of the market. HERA has a total of ten award categories this year, including Best ESG Report, Best Sustainability Report for Non-listed Company, Best GRI Report, Excellence in ESG Governance, Excellence in Environmental Positive Impact, Excellence in Social Positive Impact, Newcomer Award, Carbon Neutral Award, Outstanding ESG Improvement Award, and one new award category: Excellence in Real Estate. About HERA The Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards recognise companies for excellence in ESG disclosures, which helps them build trust among their stakeholders. The Awards welcome applications from companies in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China that are dedicated to following outstanding practices in sustainability reporting. HERA is organised by Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, a registered non-profit organisation. For more details, please visit our official website at https://hkesgawards.com/. About Alaya Consulting Alaya Consulting is an ESG consultancy focused upon ESG advisory, carbon emissions solutions, disclosure, data verification, ratings upgrade, and GRI Certified Training. We are the ESG partner of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA) and the first ESG Advisory in Asia to receive approval from SBTi regarding our carbon reduction target. Media Contact: HERA Organizer – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited Susie Chen Tel: + 852 5120 5778 Email: susie@hkesgawards.com
2022-10-20A panel of heavyweights from the arts sector on Thursday said Hong Kong is poised to leverage its strengths under the “one country, two systems” principle to build itself into an international hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world. To achieve that ambition, as laid down in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Hong Kong needs to make full use of its great talents, flourishing local arts scene, multitude of newly built facilities, mature infrastructure for art trading, and the creative industry, and help to enhance the soft power of Chinese culture as a place where East meets West, the panel said. Held at the Greater Bay Area Conference, co-hosted by China Daily Hong Kong Edition and Hong Kong Coalition, the panel discussion was themed “Strengthening Exchanges and Cooperation, Developing a Cultural Hub”. Speaking at the panel discussion, Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, said that what gives Hong Kong its uniqueness is the “one country, two systems” policy, which persuades most of the West, and countries around the world, to trust in the brand and trust in Hong Kong. The beautiful thing about Hong Kong is the freedom of artistic creation, which makes it an ideal place for the cultural exchanges and collaborations between East and West, said Zeman. Zeman stressed that the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) positioned Hong Kong as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange for the first time, showing that the central government attaches importance to Hong Kong. Echoing Zeman, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at Hong Kong Jockey Club Raymond Tam said the arts and cultural sector is thrilled by the central government’s strong support for Hong Kong to develop as an arts and cultural exchanges hub between China and the rest of the world. “We have great talents in Hong Kong, a flourishing local art scene, many newly built facilities and more in the pipeline, and mature infrastructure for art trading and the creative industry,” Tam said. Also weighing in, Tisa Ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, said she believes that Hong Kong has one unique advantage in becoming a cultural hub, which is its global interconnectivity in the performing arts. In the opinion of Alvin Yip, adjunct professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the key to achieving that ambition is talent cultivation and integrated development. He strongly encourages Hong Kong youth to look to the north and south of the country, especially the newly emerging market in the south, adding that putting talents’ work together can co-create a win-win scenario. Mathias Woo, co-artistic director and executive director of Zuni Icosahedron, who also stressed the need for an integration of talent from the perspective of industry cooperation, said that the development of art requires not only art talents but also professionals from all sectors, such as lawyers, bankers, and academics. Woo also highlighted the importance of geographical integration and strongly suggested that the cities of the Greater Bay Area collaborate on different levels, for example, by founding an art tech hub, performing academy, visual academy, and culture think tank. The forum drew enthusiastic discussions, attracting many to join the Q&A session. When asked how it is possible to bring the GBA to an international audience, Zeman said the pandemic had affected Hong Kong a lot, suggesting that the city participate in more international events in the future and make efforts to build the brand not only in finance but also in culture.
2022-10-07Hong Kong should accelerate its exploration, research and study of the changing situations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area so that the city can better perform its superconnector role in the building of the region. Political and business heavyweights made the observations on Thursday at the Greater Bay Area Conference 2022 and 25th Anniversary Ceremony of China Daily Hong Kong Edition, themed “GBA: Integration Writes a New Chapter”. Co-organized by China Daily and the Hong Kong Coalition, the conference consisted of three panel discussions on how to promote technology and innovation, forge financial connectivity, and preserve cultural heritage in the city-cluster area, which comprises the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and nine cities in Guangdong province. Over 400 people, including government officials, business leaders, and experts from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and overseas, attended the hybrid event. Leung Chun-ying, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said that “knowledge about the changing situations on the other side of the tiny Shenzhen River is key”, as better cross-boundary mobility of resources such as professionals, capital, goods and electronic data, is needed. Leung cited as an example the fact that Chinese customs officials have released new measures regarding Nansha district of Guangzhou, and these measures included the freer flow of materials for biomedical research, the development of an international logistics center, and cross-boundary e-commerce and aircraft leasing businesses. But the recent development of the Greater Bay Area is not detailed in Hong Kong media reports, or analyses by Hong Kong research institutions, or commentaries by Hong Kong opinion leaders, Leung added. “What it means is that Hong Kong has to double up efforts of exploring, researching, studying, comparing, ‘tea-sipping’ and engaging on the other side of the river,” Leung said. “As the most international city in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong should reinforce the advantage as the superconnector to share our knowledge of the Greater Bay Area cities to entice international business partners.” Leung suggested media organizations, research institutions, chambers of commerce and professional bodies set up permanent branches in the Greater Bay Area cities to have “eyes and ears, arms and legs and voices on the ground”. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu agreed. “Hong Kong and other Greater Bay Area cities continue to collaborate closely and complement one another to bring about enormous opportunities for our people, our businesses and our communities.” Lee added: “Hong Kong will leverage its highly market-oriented and internationalized business environment, its well-developed professional-services sectors, as well as the city’s status as an international financial, trade and shipping center” to develop the Greater Bay Area as a world-class city-cluster for living, traveling and working. “As the world’s freest economy and the largest offshore renminbi business center, Hong Kong is the ideal gateway to connect international investors with the mainland on the one hand and help channel mainland funds to the global market on the other,” Lee said. Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy secretary-general of Hong Kong Coalition, said that the integration not only refers to infrastructural integration in transport and communication networks, “but also in our rules and regulation, administrative and professional practices and cooperation”. Tam said that Guangdong province has a complete chain of economic activities, but the services sector is comparatively less strong than the primary and secondary industries. “Here is where Hong Kong can play a vital role with our strong third-sector services and our links to the world markets,” she said. “This is a perfect combination to create an even more powerful economic growth engine.” In 2021, the total gross domestic product of the Greater Bay Area was about 12.6 trillion yuan ($1.77 trillion), and 25 of its corporations were in the top 500 globally. The city-cluster area has over 50 unicorns (startups with a value of over $1 billion) and over 1,000 incubators. It also boasts the majority of the over 60,000 high-technology companies in Guangdong. Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Group, said the Thursday conference invited some of the finest minds in the region to unravel the nuances embedded in the idea of the Greater Bay Area, and to find some well-thought-out responses to some questions. “Will Hong Kong be able to use its financial services and legal assistance facilities to boost trade ties between fellow Greater Bay Area member cities and their international partners? How effective is its role as a cultural bridge connecting the Greater Bay Area with the rest of the world going to be, and what does Hong Kong stand to gain in the process?” Qu asked. In addition to inviting business leaders, think tanks, academics, and media professionals, the roundtable also invited local consuls general. One of them was Almas Seitakynov, the Kazakhstan consul general for Hong Kong and Macao. “The Greater Bay Area is to develop human resources and high technology. I think this is a good opportunity for other countries to develop together. For example, a lot of companies from Kazakhstan open their offices in the Greater Bay Area and have very successful development,” he said on the sidelines of the conference in an interview with China Daily. In addition to the roundtable conference on how various stakeholders can forge ahead with the Greater Bay Area blueprint, the Thursday event also featured the 25th anniversary of the China Daily Hong Kong Edition. “In 25 years, China Daily has extended its reach and beyond the country, and has at the same time enhanced its international following and influence,” Leung said. “It is now a major, comprehensive and reliable source of information on the country’s latest developments.” Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Hong Kong, agreed. “We add an important new voice to the local media and play an ambassadorial role in helping China to forge stronger political and economic ties with other countries and step up social and cultural exchanges,” he said. “We also helped unpack the idea of ‘one country, two systems’, and articulate its ambitions,” Zhou added.
2022-10-07The normalization of travel between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be safe and orderly to ensure that everything will be back on track as soon as possible and practicable, says Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. He made the remarks on Wednesday at the opening of the two-day 2023 Asian Financial Forum, organized by the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, with participants from more than 70 countries and regions attending nearly 20 international delegations. Lee noted that Hong Kong has been progressively and systematically opening up itself to the world in the past few months, and launched the first phase of the resumption of quarantine-free travel with the mainland on Jan 8. “Travelers are no longer required to undergo hotel quarantine after entering the mainland from Hong Kong. That means it is much more convenient for business people, investors, tourists and, of course, Hong Kong people who have longed for reunions with their family members on the mainland after being separated for some three years,” he said. “You can be rest assured we will go fast in a safe and orderly manner to achieve our shared goal of getting everything back on track as soon as possible and practicable.” The HKSAR government scrapped the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement for incoming travelers in September last year, paving the way for the city to host a three-day international investment summit for the first time in three years. The event was attended by more than 200 financial and business leaders from some 120 financial institutions. “With the HKSAR government’s further relaxation of anti-pandemic measures last month, I am pleased to see many of you having travelled to our vibrant city to join us,” HKTDC Chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok told the forum. “It has been three years since the start of a public health crisis that no one could foresee. As the economy continues to recover gradually, we now have the opportunity to back up the global economy,” he said. This year’s Asian Financial Forum has invited more than 100 global business leaders, policymakers, financial and wealth management professionals, entrepreneurs, technology innovators and economists to share their insights on international finance and economy, trade, sustainability and other issues. There are more than 2,000 live participants, with 3,000 others attending the event online.
2023-01-11中国日报12月11日电 由中国日报和亚洲新闻联盟主办的“动感亚洲”摄影展于12月9日在香港跑马地V54举行了开幕式,这是该活动于今年11月APEC期间在泰国曼谷举办首场展览后的第二站。 据悉,香港展展期为12月8日至11日,周五的开幕交流活动吸引了多个国家的驻港总领事,资深摄影人、文化艺术机构负责人、资深评论员、智库机构人士参与。 中国日报社副总编辑、亚太分社社长兼总编辑周立先生在开幕式上表示,过去三年各国人民都经历了许多,这场全球公共卫生危机证明了,在任何时候全人类的命运都是休戚与共的,抗疫过程中也展现出人民之间的团结和相互支持,人类的命运也紧密联系在一起,解决人类共同面临的难题需要各国携手合作。 古物谘询委员会主席苏彰德观看展览后表示,很高兴能在香港看到这样的图片展,让我看到过去几年在不同国家的生活模式,很值得我们去了解。 文莱驻港总领事阿纳托利·扎希·穆罕默德表示,很遗憾这次没有文莱的摄影师稿件入选,但这些照片也让她回想起来过去几年的抗疫场景。她还介绍说,文莱已经一年没有新冠病毒感染了,在抗疫中表现优异,也欢迎大家可以有更多的交流往来。 孟加拉国驻港副领事马祖克伊斯兰在看完图片后认为,这些图片都传递出一个信息,我们应该铭记历史并从中吸取经验和教训。 摄影展所在的V54也充满艺术氛围。V54是建于1920年代的三级历史建筑,由保良局前主席梁安琪太平绅士慷慨借出以推动青年創意教育而推行了“青年艺术家驻村”计划,为青年艺术家提供食宿以帮助他们心无旁骛进行艺术创作。 此次“动感亚洲”系列摄影展有来自中国,缅甸,菲律宾,土耳其,韩国,印尼,伊朗,俄罗斯,孟加拉,巴勒斯坦,老挝,阿联酋,柬埔寨,印度,不丹,马来西亚,泰国和越南共18个国家的179名摄影师参与,共收到1,175幅摄影作品投稿。
2022-12-11HONG KONG – A photo exhibition capturing the changes in Asian people’s daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraging people to move forward opened in Hong Kong on Friday. Co-organized by China Daily and the Asia News Network, the Changing Asia — New Normal photography exhibition runs through Dec 11. The photos document what life has been like across Asia, in times of lockdowns, vaccinations, and quarantine. They also record how the public health crisis has affected the region’s culture and heritage, the way people have lived and learned, and how international events have been shaped. Prominent figures, including consulate general officials of eight countries, think tank leaders, senior commentators, and heads of arts and cultural institutions, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Friday. Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific, said at the ceremony that the pandemic has demonstrated the reality that human beings are bound together in good and bad times alike. It has also pointed to the need to build a community with a shared future, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping nine years ago and has been a guiding principle for China's participation in international governance, he said. Md Marzuk Islam, vice consul of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said he was amazed by the exhibition. He said the photos carry a message that human beings can remember the past and learn from it. In the future, he hopes that global communities can unite and support each other to make the world a better place. Ana Dubraska Garcia, consul general of Venezuela in the HKSAR, said China Daily offers a good opportunity for more people to appreciate these valuable pictures, and said she hopes that Venezuela can continue maintaining a good relationship with China in future collaborations. Earlier, the organizers invited professional photographers from Asia to submit photos taken in the past three years under the theme “Changing Asia — New Normal”. The project received more than 1,000 photos from 179 photographers. Total 78 photos were selected for the exhibition from 18 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Palestine, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. This exhibition was held in Bangkok, Thailand from Nov 16-20, coinciding with the city’s hosting of the leaders’ meeting of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
2022-12-10City to advance as a patent trading hub with support of nation and close regional ties Hong Kong and the whole of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are well-placed to become a key center in a global economy that is increasingly driven by intangible assets. This was the view expressed by government officials and business leaders at the 12th Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum held on Thursday and Friday, organized by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the Hong Kong Design Centre. Themed “Creating New Value, Discovering New Frontiers”, the two-day forum brought together global IP experts and business leaders to discuss the latest trends and opportunities in the Asian IP market as well as IP developments in the industrial metaverse. The event attracted 70 high-profile global IP experts from 12 countries and regions. In a keynote speech, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu described IP as “the oil of the 21st century” in his opening remarks, saying it will be critical to bringing innovation and the business world together and powering a knowledge-based economy. “Our country’s national 14th Five-year Plan (2021-25) firmly supports Hong Kong’s rise as a regional IP trading center. It is one of the eight important sectors to drive our future development, and to lead the way in – for the mainland and for the Asian region as a whole,” Lee said. The chief executive said the government will work to implement the international trademark registration system, and update the copyright regime. The government will enhance the city’s patent examiners’ capability so that by 2030, they will have the institutional autonomy to conduct substantive patent examinations for strengthening crossboundary IP protection. It will also provide IP training for some 5,000 practitioners across various industries over the next five years, according to Lee. The chief executive told the forum that Hong Kong’s infrastructure and capabilities for research and development continue to expand and innovate. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index this year, Hong Kong ranks 14th, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou science and technology cluster ranks second. “This is a bright reflection of the broader Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area and its determination to rise as one of the world’s great innovation and technology centers, with Hong Kong playing a pivotal role in its progress,” Lee said. Addressing the same event, Shen Changyu, commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, said that “the central government policy is to help Hong Kong to develop as an original IP trading hub.” “In IP examination, talent cultivation and information systems, we offer necessary favors to Hong Kong. We set up the IP alternate qualification examination center in Hong Kong and are planning favorable arrangements for Hong Kong IP applicants to the mainland jurisdiction,” Shen said. “All of those efforts are to promote the synergy effect between the mainland and Hong Kong in IP development.” Shen also announced that a pilot project for prioritizing the examination of qualified invention-patent applications filed by Hong Kong applicants on the Chinese mainland will be launched on Jan 1. The pilot project aims to facilitate Hong Kong applicants in seeking patent protection on the Chinese mainland to safeguard against the exploitation and commercialization of their inventions. It will be jointly rolled out by the CNIPA, the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong, and the intellectual property authorities of Guangdong province and Shenzhen. Under the project, Hong Kong applicants for invention-patent applications that meet the criteria may request prioritized examination of their applications by the CNIPA. Requests can be submitted to the CNIPA’s representative office in Guangzhou or Shenzhen. Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Daren Tang Heng Shim highlighted the increasingly important role that intangible assets will play in Hong Kong’s future economic growth. First, a growing number of Hong Kong-listed firms will be able to derive most of the value for their intangible assets, according to Tang. “Nine of the top 15 mainland firms ranked by intangible asset intensity, now trade shares in Hong Kong.” “Patent and trademark pledge financing on the mainland in 2021 passed the 300-billion-yuan ($42.7 billion) mark, up 40 percent year-on-year. Given Hong Kong’s financial expertise and geostrategic location, Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area are well-placed to play a leading role in the development of IP finance,” Tang said. “Trade flows linked to knowledge and digitalization grew twice as fast as trade flows relating to goods, with IP data and digital services leading the way for an economy like Hong Kong,” the WIPO chief added. Trademark activity in Hong Kong grew by close to 10 percent in 2021 which doubled the global average. The number of patents filed by Hong Kong residents around the world has increased 50 percent, in the areas of digital communications and computer technology, according to Tang. “With a strong IP protection regime, efficient IP commercialization, deep and liquid capital and sound judicial system, Hong Kong is uniquely placed to foster a vigorous IP ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area, the rest of the Chinese mainland, and Asia at large,” said Margaret Fong Shun-man, executive director of the HKTDC.
2022-12-03In the highly immersive and hypnotically engrossing digital artscape, the line between “real” and “virtual” is blurred. The once clearcut categorization of art genres becomes fuzzy. While this enables the artistic envelope to be pushed more easily and expansively, it doesn’t translate to a higher tolerance for intellectual property infringement and stakeholders in the industry have to decode the answer in no time, said panelists at the 12th Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum on Friday. There’s been a paradigm shift in mindset and sensibility to art and culture in recent years throughout institutions, museums, galleries and in individual artists in Hong Kong, from emphasizing “industry-based thinking” to “events-based thinking,” said Celina Chin, executive director of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, at the forum themed “HK’s Ambitious Cultural and Arts Hub Plan Unveils Vast Opportunities for IP industries”, co-organized by China Daily. The artistic envelope is not only being pushed physically — joining up with museums and co-organizing myriad activities with their counterparts in other countries, adds Chin — but also through merging and meshing of various art forms which are seemingly independent. A case in point was the recent “Ji” Concert held in July. “It is by no means a traditional ordinary concert featuring only the orchestra and conductor on stage. Instead, it involved lots of artists, including dancers, tai chi masters, a children’s choir, as well as behind-the-stage teams, such as set design, lighting design and costume design…” said Chin. That a mélange of artists from assorted art genres worked together to deliver the ultimately astonishing artistic punch means that it “involves a lot of IP” in the entire production, said Chin, which makes artistic IP protection all the more important, pressing and challenging. Putting most art productions online during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled major art and cultural players, like HKCO, to ponder over how to safeguard artists’ IP afresh. “We had to consult professionals and settle the IP issues with all the composers and different types of artists and art directors (in one single production) before we could finally go ahead with releasing the program online,” Chin said. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s reorganization of virtual assets, while it’s more relevant to the financial sector, is encouraging news for art and cultural stakeholders, said Heiman Ng, head of business development at Digital Art Fair. “We are on the right track in continuing pushing the boundary when it comes to art creation,” said Ng. A prime example of how savvy Chinese contemporary artists are employing cutting-edge technologies to perfect their artistic potency as well as cashing in on the roaring non-fungible tokens art trend, cited by Ng, is Life Fantasy, a collection by Jacky Tsai and pop singer Jay Chou, presented in Digital Art Air Hong Kong in September. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and pop music, bolstered by augmented reality technology, allows visitors a sensory immersive experience. The future of art and cultural landscape will be dominated by the NFT market, which is beckoning against the ‘crypto crush’, Ng predicts. The NFT market is no guarantee to secure IP ownership. Still riddled with loopholes and unsolved puzzles, the nascent NFT art scene has no shortage of complaints from “artists or original creators about being ripped off and (illegitimate) ‘copy and paste’ tactics even though they have minted their work on the blockchain,'' said Ng. “There are plenty of serious copyright infringement issues. Understandably, it’s just the beginning of the market and all stakeholders are putting in effort to optimize the market. I’d like to send the message here, ‘We’ll be here supporting all the artists, galleries and institutions, setting good examples of how we do the KYC (know your customer) for them’ ”, said Ng. Helen So, lead of arts and culture at Our Hong Kong Foundation, used South Korea’s cultural policies as an example to explain why Hong Kong should put more effort into intellectual property creation, licensing as well as trading to gear the city up for a global hub of cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. So highlighted the contribution of the South Korean administration to the success. The copyright bureau alone -- excluding other media and arts bureaus in South Korea -- injected about HK$539 million ($69.27 million) into copyright-related programs in 2021, while Hong Kong had a HK$217 million budget on all IP matters during the same period, So said. “Copyright and IP need to be part of today’s cultural policy-making,” she said. “We could have further collaborations with these existing infrastructures to see if we could open up copyright information for cultural IP to better let Hong Kong’s culture and creative assets be properly recognized, valued and respected all around the world.” Jeffrey Shaw, chair professor at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, said future cinema systems would be a major focus of the next generation of art technologies. Shaw is leading a team to develop the future cinema systems project, which will “push the boundaries of intelligent interaction technology in conjunction with media and art industry and cultural partners”. “The grand challenge of the project is to transform the cinema … as (it will create) a new dimension of interactive, immersive, computational and intelligent experience,” he said.
2022-12-03In the highly immersive and hypnotically engrossing digital artscape, the line between “real” and “virtual” is blurred. The once clear-cut categorization of art genres becomes fuzzy. While this enables the artistic envelope to be pushed more easily and expansively, it doesn’t translate to a higher tolerance for intellectual property infringement and stakeholders in the industry have to decode the answer in no time, said panelists at the 12th Business of IP Asia Forum on Friday. There’s been a paradigm shift in mindset and sensibility to art and culture in recent years throughout institutions, museums, galleries and in individual artists in Hong Kong, from emphasizing “industry-based thinking” to “events-based thinking,” said Celina Chin, executive director of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, at the forum themed “HK’s Ambitious Cultural and Arts Hub Plan Unveils Vast Opportunities for IP industries”, co-organized by China Daily. The artistic envelope is not only being pushed physically — joining up with museums and co-organizing myriad activities with their counterparts in other countries, adds Chin — but also through merging and meshing of various art forms which are seemingly independent. A case in point is a recent “Ji” Concert held in July. “It is by no means a traditional ordinary concert featuring only the orchestra and conductor on stage. Instead, it involved lots of artists, including dancers, tai chi masters, a children’s choir, as well as behind-the-stage teams, such as set design, lighting design and costume design…” said Chin. That a mélange of artists from assorted art genres worked together to deliver the ultimately astonishing artistic punch means that it “involves a lot of IP” in the entire production, said Chin, which makes artistic IP protection all the more important, pressing and challenging. Putting most art productions online during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled major art and cultural players, like HKCO, to ponder over how to safeguard artists’ IP afresh. “We had to consult professionals and settle the IP issues with all the composers and different types of artists and art directors (in one single production) before we could finally go ahead with releasing the program online,” Chin said. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s reorganization of virtual assets, while it’s more relevant to the financial sector, is encouraging news for art and cultural stakeholders, said Heiman Ng, head of business development at Digital Art Fair. “We are on the right track in continuing pushing the boundary when it comes to art creation,” said Ng. A prime example of how savvy Chinese contemporary artists are employing cutting-edge technologies to perfect their artistic potency as well as cashing in on the roaring non-fungible tokens art trend, cited by Ng, is Life Fantasy, a collection by Jacky Tsai and pop singer Jay Chou, presented in Digital Art Air Hong Kong in September. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and pop music, bolstered by augmented reality technology, allow visitors a sensory immersive experience. The future of art and cultural landscape will be dominated by the NFT market, which is beckoning against the ‘crypto crush’, Ng predicts. The NFT market is no guarantee to secure IP ownership. Still riddled with loopholes and unsolved puzzles, the nascent NTF art scene has no shortage of complaints from “artists or original creators about being ripped off and (illegitimate) ‘copy and paste’ tactics even though they have minted their work on the blockchain, said Ng. “There are plenty of serious copyright infringement issues. Understandably, it’s just the beginning of the market and all stakeholders are putting in effort to optimize the market. I’d like to send the message here, ‘We’ll be here supporting all the artists, galleries and institutions, setting good examples of how we do the KYC (know your customer) for them’ ”, said Ng. Helen So, lead of arts and culture at Our Hong Kong Foundation, used South Korea’s cultural policies as an example to explain that Hong Kong should put more effort into intellectual property creation, licensing as well as trading to gear the city up for a global hub of cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. It is estimated that South Korea’s cultural content market will be worth $70.9 billion in 2023, which will be the seventh-largest in the world, according to the national investment promotion agency Invest Korea. This is compared to $67.9 billion this year. So highlighted the contribution of the South Korean administration to the success. The copyright bureau alone -- excluding other media and arts bureaus in South Korea -- injected about HK$539 million ($69.27 million) into copyright-related programs in 2021, while Hong Kong had a HK$217 million budget on all IP matters during the same period, So said. So noted the Ministry of Culture in South Korea also established a digital copyright exchange in 2007 by working with stakeholders of the cultural industry, such as copyright holders, distributors and collective management organizations, to allow anyone who registered on the platform to trade and upload their works. “Copyright and IP need to be part of today’s cultural policymaking,” she said. “We could have further collaborations with these existing infrastructures to see if we could open up copyright information for cultural IP to better let Hong Kong’s culture and creative assets to be properly recognized, valued and respected all around the world.” Jeffrey Shaw, chair professor at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, said future cinema systems would be a major focus of the next generation of art technologies. Shaw is leading a team to develop the future cinema systems project, which will “push the boundaries of intelligent interaction technology in conjunction with media and art industry and cultural partners”. “The grand challenge of the project is to transform the cinema … as (it will create) a new dimension of interactive, immersive, computational and intelligent experience,” he said.
2022-12-02Hong Kong, 31 October 2022 – Cyberport’s premier annual venture capital event, the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (Forum) was successfully concluded on 28 October 2022. The forum was held again in a hybrid mode, gathering over 100 international venture capital experts, investors, venture companies and the Cyberport start-up community for two consecutive days. The forum, together with the Smart Living Venture Day, the Startup Workshop and the Startup Clinic, attracted around 2,500 participants and about 110,000 page views on the online platform. In addition, the forum also facilitated over 300 one-on-one meeting between investors and start-ups. Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, said, "Venture capital funds and investors play a crucial role in helping start-ups grow and prosper, and transforming Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. Despite the current fund raising challenges, many of our venture capital fund partners are still active. Together with Government’s recent initiatives including the Strategic Tech Fund, we are confident on the sustained growth in Hong Kong’s I&T sector. Cyberport will continue to promote and facilitate the connection of start-ups with investors with a view to expanding their business networks, turning the fruits of their innovations into business opportunities, facilitating the living of citizens, and creating a triple win for start-ups, investors and the society.” Over 20 scholars, industry practitioners, investors and start-ups were invited to participate in the Smart Living Venture Day, which was held for the first time this year. Four forums were held around EdTech, ArtTech, GeronTech and SocialTech. The themes are "Transforming Education with Technology", "Reimagination of the Artistic World: Opportunities and Challenges", "Engineer an Innovative Retirement Life: GeronTech & HealthTech" and "To Make a Change in the Society – A Sustainable Model in Redistributing Resources", which explore the market demand, challenges and impact of the four types of technology on society, as well as the development of start-ups and the future of venture capital in smart living. Guest speakers included Prof Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Tsang, Founder of Esperanza; Jennifer Ma, Group Chief Strategy Officer of CTF Education Group; Sunnie Lau, Director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hong Kong Innovation Node; Dr Joseph Wong, Executive Director, Hong Kong Design Centre; Dr Joseph Coughlin, Director of MIT AgeLab; Dr Carmen Ng, General Manager (Elderly Services) of the Hong Kong Housing Society; Jacky Kwan, Chairman of Zebra Wellness Group and Chairman of Primary Care Education Foundation; Gilad Rosenzweig, Executive Director of MITDesignX; Dr. Tat Lam, CEO of SZC Holdings, and a group of start-up representatives. Hendrick Sin, Chairperson of Cyberport Investor Network Steering Group said, “As Hong Kong's digital technology flagship and incubator, Cyberport is committed to nurturing digital technology talent, promoting the development of the digital technology industry, and facilitating the integration of the new economy with the traditional economy. Cyberport actively organises the Forum to connect investors and start-ups with the venture capital community to raise capital and promote innovation and entrepreneurship." In addition, the Forum this year again featured Start-up Workshop sessions hosted by seasoned investors from Amino Capital, AngelHub and The Purposeful Project, offering practical tips and strategies to entrepreneurs with topics such as extending runway and leading in uncertain times; investing in Web3 in a bear market, exploring opportunities in the circular economy and the secret to building a successful business. At the Start-up Clinic, members from Cyberport Professional Services Network including CW CPA, Egon Zehnder, Ernst & Young, The Hoffman Agency, OPo Technology and Trinity Bridge Asia provided free interactive consultation services for addressing essential entrepreneurial issues of start-ups. Along with over 100 virtual exhibition booths, the integrated online event platform of the Forum , will remain open until 16 November for start-ups to showcase their innovative technology solutions, network with industry peers, explore business opportunities and watch the Forum contents on demand. Online investor matching session will continue until 7 November. For review detailed information on related seminars and a complete line-up of speakers of 2022 Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2022, please visit the website: http://cvcf.cyberport.hk/ For media enquiries, please contact: Cyberport Wong Tsz Hin Tel: (852) 3166 2835 Email: zacwongth@cyberport.hk Yuan Tung Financial Relations Agnes Yiu Tel:(852)3428 5690 Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk About Cyberport Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,800 members, including over 800 onsite and 1000 offsite start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, wholly owned by the Hong 5 Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology, thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting start-ups, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economic by accelerating digital transformation in the public and private sectors. For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk
2022-10-31Guests of a local youth forum highlighted the enormous opportunities arising from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the technology, finance and culture and sports sectors, and called on Hong Kong’s young minds to build strength and courage to forge their way ahead. They shared the insights at the “Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference” GBA Youth Development Forum 2022 on Monday. Co-organized by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, the event attracted more than 700 young people, including high school students and undergraduates. Delivering a speech at the event, Daryl Ng Win-kong, chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, who has been involved in youth affairs for many years, said the Greater Bay Area has huge development potential. More and more high-level cooperation platforms, such as Qianhai in Shenzhen, Nansha in Guangzhou, and the Northern-Metropolis in Hong Kong, provide wide support in entrepreneurial services, including funding, training, and exchange opportunities. With favorable policies offered by Chinese mainland cities, and deepening intercity traffic links in the region, Ng said the Greater Bay Area presents Hong Kong young people with “unprecedented” development opportunities to build their dreams. Officiating at the event, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai cited President Xi Jinping’s July 1 speech that the development of a nation is inseparable from focusing on youth, gathering talents and seeking innovation. He noted that the Greater Bay Area blueprint is a major national development strategy of reform and opening-up in a new era, and encouraged young people of Hong Kong to keep an open mind, equip themselves and seize opportunities in the promising cluster. With the nation’s support, young people will have enormous opportunities to realize their dreams with a view to making a contribution to the nation, serving Hong Kong, and becoming pillars of the world, Tsang said. Echoing Tsang’s words, Zhang Zhihua, director general of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said he hopes that all Hong Kong community sectors can make use of the promising platform of the Greater Bay Area to nurture local youths and help the underprivileged by providing internship and employment opportunities. The forum, which featured three themed panel discussions held both online and on-site, brought together youth leaders to share their views on how the continuous development of the Greater Bay Area will benefit Hong Kong youngsters in the technology, finance and cultural and sports areas. Speaking during the panel discussion on “New Realm of Innovative Technology”, Hendrick Sin, the co-founder, executive director and vice-chairman of CMGE Technology Group Ltd, shared his entrepreneurial journey and introduced the preferential measures that have been launched by local authorities in the Greater Bay Area, such as business incubation schemes and venture funds. Particularly upbeat about the future of mobile games and esports developments, he said he hopes Hong Kong and Guangdong province can deepen collaboration on related talent cultivation and form an esports ecological chain. He also encouraged Hong Kong to tap into the fresh opportunities in the metaverse and non-fungible tokens and establish its own advantages. Cindy Chow, executive director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, noted that Hong Kong’s position as a financial center remains strong. She said she hopes that the government will provide more support to enable startups to develop better in the Greater Bay Area. Startup leaders also need to have the courage and innovative thinking to adapt their product positioning to the changing environment. Kenneth Fok, member of the Legislative Council in the Functional Constituency for Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication, said that to further Hong Kong’s mission of developing into a global cultural hub, the Asian culture widely accepted by the global market is something that Hong Kong can explore and leverage. Young people in Hong Kong can make good use of the city’s convergence of Chinese and Western cultures to better tell Chinese stories, he noted.
2022-10-28【Press Release】 [HONG KONG, 24 OCTOBER 2022] Organised by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, co-organised by HKET Holdings and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, the “Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference” GBA Youth Development Forum 2022 (‘the Forum”) was held today at the Conrad Hotel. Bringing together youth leaders from across Hong Kong, the Forum highlighted opportunities in the GBA for young people in the fields of innovation and technology, fintech, culture and sports. More than 700 young people, including high school students and undergraduates attended (also through online) to learn about pursuing a career or further studies in the Greater Bay Area, where they can fulfil their true potential. Officiating at the Forum were Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhang Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Deputy Chairman of Sino Group), Dr Hu Zhanghong, JP, CEO of Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments Limited and Director of the Financial Services Development Council, and Ms Salome See Sau-mei, Group Managing Director of Hong Kong Economic Times Holdings and Managing Director of ET Net. Other guests attended were Mr Kenneth Fok, Executive Vice Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Member of the Legislative Council, Vice President of the Fok Ying Tung Group), and Vice Chairmen of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation included Mr Adam Kwok (Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited), Mr Christopher Kwok (Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited), Mr Alex Yeung (Vice Chairman of Emperor Group) and Mr Calvin Choi (Chairman of AMTD Group), as well as Mr Vincent Yu, Managing Director of China Merchants Capital and Mr Yang Bin, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation. Guest speakers who delivered keynote speeches: (In no particular order) 1. Mr Hendrick Sin, Co-founder, Executive Director and Vice Chairman of CMGE Technology Group Limited 2. Mr Michael Li, Co-founder & Director of Titanology Limited 3. Mr Stark Chan, Founder of Bull.B Technology Limited 4. Mr Eric Yeung, Founding President of Esports Association Hong Kong 5. Ms Cindy Chow, Executive Director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund 6. Mr Tat Lee, Chief Executive & Executive Director of WeLab Bank 7. Mr Winston Wong, Co-founder & CEO of Qupital 8. Mr Fred Ngan, Co-founder, Co-CEO and Director of Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited 9. Mr Kenneth Fok, Member of the Legislative Council (Functional Constituency - Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication) 10. Mr Mathias Woo, Artistic cum Executive Director, Zuni Icosahedron, Convener of the “HK Belt Road City to City Cultural Exchange Conference” 11. Mr William Keong, Executive Director of Manner Culture Limited 12. Ms Prudence Mak, Founder & Creative Director of Chocolate Rain 13. Ms Vincci Hui, Former Olympian for Hong Kong Triathlon; 2-time Olympic Games TV Program Host and Commentator The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, GBS,IDSM,JP said, "President Xi Jinping, speaking in Hong Kong on July 1, highlighted the importance of our young people, said, ‘Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive; Hong Kong will develop only when its young people achieve well-rounded development, and Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good prospects’. The development of a nation is inseparable from focusing on youth, gathering talents and seeking innovation. The theme of today's forum, ‘Gathering Young Talents, Making a Difference’, echoes President Xi's call for young people: strive for innovation, develop a strong sense of responsibility, and contribute to the future of Hong Kong and our nation.” Mr Tsang hopes that young people become a new generation who loves Hong Kong and our nation, and participate actively in the integration with the overall development of the nation. Young people should make use of the advantages of "one country, two systems" in creating a bigger stage for development. He also encouraged young people to keep an open mind, equip themselves and seize opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. With the nation's support, young people will have enormous opportunities to realise their dreams with a view to making contribution to the nation, serving Hong Kong, and becoming pillars of the world. Mr Zhang Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, put forward three propositions in his speech: “Firstly, I hope Hong Kong youth can seize the GBA development opportunities and build it up together. By unleashing their potential in a bigger stage, this helps them to step into the world platform; Secondly, I hope that all community sectors will care about the youth, make use of the greater platform of GBA to nurture them and help the underprivileged by providing internship and employment opportunities; Finally, I hope young people will seize the opportunities to integrate into the nation's development and build their dreams in the GBA.” Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, said, “The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area issued by the Central Government in 2019 has made the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the ‘GBA’) a national strategy. With its enormous potential for growth, the GBA offers unprecedented opportunities for Hong Kong Youth. The National 14th Five Year Plan has supported the development of Hong Kong into ‘eight centres’ capitalising on its strengths. Through today’s Forum ‘Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference’, we provided an interactive platform to discuss and promote the continuous development of society. Young people are the future of our society, our Foundation will continue to support and nurture Hong Kong youth to become the pivotal forces in the development of the Greater Bay Area.” Topic 1 - New Realm of Innovative Technology – Fintech Talent to Embrace Enormous Opportunities The rapid development of the GBA has opened up a broader space for young people to seize new development opportunities. Young people interested in innovative technology should adopt professional, candid, pragmatic, and change-oriented attitudes, make good use of the resources provided in the GBA, and industrialise their innovations in a creative and entrepreneurial environment. This Forum allowed young entrepreneurs to better understand the policies and preferential measures available to them in the GBA, such as an incubation programmes and venture capital funds. Topic 2 - New Era in Finance – Digital Technology and Innovation in Financial Services Digital technology is driving innovation in global financial services, changing business models and users' expectations. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong offers a unique environment, backed by Mainland China and open to the world. Hong Kong should leverage on its strengths, for further development in financial technology to create more opportunities for young people. Speakers encouraged young people interested in finance or information technology to use their knowledge in finance, information, operation and management to become the new generation of Fintech talent. Topic 3 - New Perspectives on Culture and Sports - Promote the Diversified and Integrated Development of Culture and Sports As an international city in the GBA, Hong Kong has an important role to play in the development of culture and sports through the integration of hardware, software and ‘heartware’. This panel discussion focused on how Hong Kong can position itself in the GBA to promote the development of cultural and sports industries, to inspire young people and create diversified opportunities for them. Accelerating the two-way exchange of cultural and sports talent between Hong Kong and the Mainland, Hong Kong can become a cultural exchange centre between East and West. Today’s Forum provided an interactive platform for youth leaders from different sectors to discuss the important role of Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area. During their discussions, they shared their views on how the continuous development of the region would benefit Hong Kong youth by allowing them to widen their perspectives, achieve their personal goals and contribute to the sustainable growth of the community. The Forum ended with very positive responses.
2022-10-24Hong Kong, 20 October 2022 – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited is pleased to announce the winners of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (“HERA” or “the Award”). Since commencement in 2018, HERA has witnessed enormous positive shifts in approach and attitude of companies to ESG and related issues. HERA has seen firsthand how more and more companies are promoting ESG values and actively practicing ESG concepts. In the fifth anniversary of the HERA this year, the number of applicants has reached a record high. Over 100 entries competed for a total of 10 awards, including the new “Excellent in Real Estate” award, which is a joint effort of HERA and the global ESG benchmark of the real estate industry – GRESB. Since its establishment, HERA has always recognised enterprises with outstanding performance in ESG Reports, and is committed to not just promoting sustainability performance of companies but also encouraging companies to follow the best practices of corporate ESG disclosure. Tony Wong, founder of Alaya Consulting and the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, stated: “HERA’s commitment to promoting best practices in ESG is aligned with the market trend. Over the years, the winners of HERA have exceeded compliance requirements, and have successfully established the industry benchmark when it comes to disclosure standards. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), established in 2021, is expected to launch two new standards by the end of the year, which will no doubt promote the equal importance of ESG disclosures and financial disclosures. In the future, HERA will continue to shine light on the best ESG practices within the industry, and work with outstanding enterprises in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to promote coordinated development of ESG in the above regions” The winners (see appendix) are selected by an independent panel of judges, comprising of experts from different backgrounds, including business, non-governmental organisations and academia. It was an honour to have the following judges (in alphabetical order) to supervise HERA’s corporate performance evaluation process: Dr. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST, Ms. Lisa Marie Djeng, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Keywise Capital Management (HK) Limited, Mr. Mike Wong, CEO, the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, Mr. Joseph Chan, Head of Communications, and Engagement Section, Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Office (SRSDO), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and Ms. Judy Chen, CFA, Senior Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation. Overall, the judges panel was satisfied with ESG disclosure performance of the applicants and believed that the level of disclosure demonstrated by contenders for the awards was continuously improving, especially in terms of climate-related disclosures. In fact, many of the participating companies have made disclosures based on the TCFD framework and formulated corresponding quantitative indicators. The judges panel also encourages participating companies to increasingly incorporate ESG into their business strategies. Recognising that the current market is continuously affected by many uncertainties, a high level of ESG disclosure and dedication to adopting ESG best practices can help enhance companies’ competitiveness while also improving their resilience to the volatility of the market. HERA has a total of ten award categories this year, including Best ESG Report, Best Sustainability Report for Non-listed Company, Best GRI Report, Excellence in ESG Governance, Excellence in Environmental Positive Impact, Excellence in Social Positive Impact, Newcomer Award, Carbon Neutral Award, Outstanding ESG Improvement Award, and one new award category: Excellence in Real Estate. About HERA The Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards recognise companies for excellence in ESG disclosures, which helps them build trust among their stakeholders. The Awards welcome applications from companies in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China that are dedicated to following outstanding practices in sustainability reporting. HERA is organised by Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, a registered non-profit organisation. For more details, please visit our official website at https://hkesgawards.com/. About Alaya Consulting Alaya Consulting is an ESG consultancy focused upon ESG advisory, carbon emissions solutions, disclosure, data verification, ratings upgrade, and GRI Certified Training. We are the ESG partner of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA) and the first ESG Advisory in Asia to receive approval from SBTi regarding our carbon reduction target. Media Contact: HERA Organizer – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited Susie Chen Tel: + 852 5120 5778 Email: susie@hkesgawards.com
2022-10-20A panel of heavyweights from the arts sector on Thursday said Hong Kong is poised to leverage its strengths under the “one country, two systems” principle to build itself into an international hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world. To achieve that ambition, as laid down in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Hong Kong needs to make full use of its great talents, flourishing local arts scene, multitude of newly built facilities, mature infrastructure for art trading, and the creative industry, and help to enhance the soft power of Chinese culture as a place where East meets West, the panel said. Held at the Greater Bay Area Conference, co-hosted by China Daily Hong Kong Edition and Hong Kong Coalition, the panel discussion was themed “Strengthening Exchanges and Cooperation, Developing a Cultural Hub”. Speaking at the panel discussion, Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, said that what gives Hong Kong its uniqueness is the “one country, two systems” policy, which persuades most of the West, and countries around the world, to trust in the brand and trust in Hong Kong. The beautiful thing about Hong Kong is the freedom of artistic creation, which makes it an ideal place for the cultural exchanges and collaborations between East and West, said Zeman. Zeman stressed that the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) positioned Hong Kong as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange for the first time, showing that the central government attaches importance to Hong Kong. Echoing Zeman, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at Hong Kong Jockey Club Raymond Tam said the arts and cultural sector is thrilled by the central government’s strong support for Hong Kong to develop as an arts and cultural exchanges hub between China and the rest of the world. “We have great talents in Hong Kong, a flourishing local art scene, many newly built facilities and more in the pipeline, and mature infrastructure for art trading and the creative industry,” Tam said. Also weighing in, Tisa Ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, said she believes that Hong Kong has one unique advantage in becoming a cultural hub, which is its global interconnectivity in the performing arts. In the opinion of Alvin Yip, adjunct professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the key to achieving that ambition is talent cultivation and integrated development. He strongly encourages Hong Kong youth to look to the north and south of the country, especially the newly emerging market in the south, adding that putting talents’ work together can co-create a win-win scenario. Mathias Woo, co-artistic director and executive director of Zuni Icosahedron, who also stressed the need for an integration of talent from the perspective of industry cooperation, said that the development of art requires not only art talents but also professionals from all sectors, such as lawyers, bankers, and academics. Woo also highlighted the importance of geographical integration and strongly suggested that the cities of the Greater Bay Area collaborate on different levels, for example, by founding an art tech hub, performing academy, visual academy, and culture think tank. The forum drew enthusiastic discussions, attracting many to join the Q&A session. When asked how it is possible to bring the GBA to an international audience, Zeman said the pandemic had affected Hong Kong a lot, suggesting that the city participate in more international events in the future and make efforts to build the brand not only in finance but also in culture.
2022-10-07Hong Kong should accelerate its exploration, research and study of the changing situations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area so that the city can better perform its superconnector role in the building of the region. Political and business heavyweights made the observations on Thursday at the Greater Bay Area Conference 2022 and 25th Anniversary Ceremony of China Daily Hong Kong Edition, themed “GBA: Integration Writes a New Chapter”. Co-organized by China Daily and the Hong Kong Coalition, the conference consisted of three panel discussions on how to promote technology and innovation, forge financial connectivity, and preserve cultural heritage in the city-cluster area, which comprises the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and nine cities in Guangdong province. Over 400 people, including government officials, business leaders, and experts from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and overseas, attended the hybrid event. Leung Chun-ying, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said that “knowledge about the changing situations on the other side of the tiny Shenzhen River is key”, as better cross-boundary mobility of resources such as professionals, capital, goods and electronic data, is needed. Leung cited as an example the fact that Chinese customs officials have released new measures regarding Nansha district of Guangzhou, and these measures included the freer flow of materials for biomedical research, the development of an international logistics center, and cross-boundary e-commerce and aircraft leasing businesses. But the recent development of the Greater Bay Area is not detailed in Hong Kong media reports, or analyses by Hong Kong research institutions, or commentaries by Hong Kong opinion leaders, Leung added. “What it means is that Hong Kong has to double up efforts of exploring, researching, studying, comparing, ‘tea-sipping’ and engaging on the other side of the river,” Leung said. “As the most international city in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong should reinforce the advantage as the superconnector to share our knowledge of the Greater Bay Area cities to entice international business partners.” Leung suggested media organizations, research institutions, chambers of commerce and professional bodies set up permanent branches in the Greater Bay Area cities to have “eyes and ears, arms and legs and voices on the ground”. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu agreed. “Hong Kong and other Greater Bay Area cities continue to collaborate closely and complement one another to bring about enormous opportunities for our people, our businesses and our communities.” Lee added: “Hong Kong will leverage its highly market-oriented and internationalized business environment, its well-developed professional-services sectors, as well as the city’s status as an international financial, trade and shipping center” to develop the Greater Bay Area as a world-class city-cluster for living, traveling and working. “As the world’s freest economy and the largest offshore renminbi business center, Hong Kong is the ideal gateway to connect international investors with the mainland on the one hand and help channel mainland funds to the global market on the other,” Lee said. Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy secretary-general of Hong Kong Coalition, said that the integration not only refers to infrastructural integration in transport and communication networks, “but also in our rules and regulation, administrative and professional practices and cooperation”. Tam said that Guangdong province has a complete chain of economic activities, but the services sector is comparatively less strong than the primary and secondary industries. “Here is where Hong Kong can play a vital role with our strong third-sector services and our links to the world markets,” she said. “This is a perfect combination to create an even more powerful economic growth engine.” In 2021, the total gross domestic product of the Greater Bay Area was about 12.6 trillion yuan ($1.77 trillion), and 25 of its corporations were in the top 500 globally. The city-cluster area has over 50 unicorns (startups with a value of over $1 billion) and over 1,000 incubators. It also boasts the majority of the over 60,000 high-technology companies in Guangdong. Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Group, said the Thursday conference invited some of the finest minds in the region to unravel the nuances embedded in the idea of the Greater Bay Area, and to find some well-thought-out responses to some questions. “Will Hong Kong be able to use its financial services and legal assistance facilities to boost trade ties between fellow Greater Bay Area member cities and their international partners? How effective is its role as a cultural bridge connecting the Greater Bay Area with the rest of the world going to be, and what does Hong Kong stand to gain in the process?” Qu asked. In addition to inviting business leaders, think tanks, academics, and media professionals, the roundtable also invited local consuls general. One of them was Almas Seitakynov, the Kazakhstan consul general for Hong Kong and Macao. “The Greater Bay Area is to develop human resources and high technology. I think this is a good opportunity for other countries to develop together. For example, a lot of companies from Kazakhstan open their offices in the Greater Bay Area and have very successful development,” he said on the sidelines of the conference in an interview with China Daily. In addition to the roundtable conference on how various stakeholders can forge ahead with the Greater Bay Area blueprint, the Thursday event also featured the 25th anniversary of the China Daily Hong Kong Edition. “In 25 years, China Daily has extended its reach and beyond the country, and has at the same time enhanced its international following and influence,” Leung said. “It is now a major, comprehensive and reliable source of information on the country’s latest developments.” Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Hong Kong, agreed. “We add an important new voice to the local media and play an ambassadorial role in helping China to forge stronger political and economic ties with other countries and step up social and cultural exchanges,” he said. “We also helped unpack the idea of ‘one country, two systems’, and articulate its ambitions,” Zhou added.
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