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SEPTEMBER 19 - 25, 2023

SPORTS

Hong Kong athletes have won 3 golds at the close of the second day of competitions at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou. Rowing athletes Lam San-tung and Wong Wai-chun came in first in Rowing Men's Pair, securing the first gold for the city in Hangzhou while Olympic champion fencer Cheung Ka-long claimed the city’s first ever Asian Games fencing gold in the men’s individual foil final. Hong Kong swimming’s golden girl Siobhan Bernadette Haughey also made history by winning gold in Women’s 200-Meter Freestyle, breaking the Games record. She is the first Hong Kong swimmer to win an Asian Games gold medal. The city’s athletes continue to demonstrate remarkable achievements in competitions, adding to the medal tally with 4 silvers and 7 bronzes in fencing, rowing, swimming, and wushu.

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

Leading a Hong Kong delegation to France (Sep 17 – 19) and the United Kingdom (Sep 20 – 23) to meet with business leaders and government officials, Financial Secretary Paul Chan highlighted Hong Kong’s latest economic and business environment, and opportunities in the key areas of the city’s business and financial services sectors, as well as various programs to attract talents and corporates to the city. He said under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong, with its common law system and the rule of law, will continue to play a unique and important role in the country’s economic development strategies. He also invited French and British businesses and enterprises to explore cooperation opportunities in areas such as infrastructure development and green finance.

Hong Kong continues to rank among the top in the Economic Freedom of the World 2023 Annual Report published by the Fraser Institute, coming in second place globally. The city continued to rank top in “Freedom to trade internationally”, and third globally in “Regulation”, with improvements in scores and rankings in “Size of government” and “Sound money”. In a statement, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said Hong Kong is one of the most liberal and easiest places to do business in the world, being home to almost 9,000 Mainland and overseas companies. This is a testament to Hong Kong’s distinctive institutional strengths under ‘one country, two systems’, where the city enjoys a high degree of autonomy. Hong Kong remains the only place in the world where the global advantage and the China advantage come together in a single economy. Hong Kong's legal and judicial system has always been highly regarded by international communities. The Constitution and the Basic Law provide constitutional guarantee for fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to equality before the law, and is buttressed by the rule of law and independent judicial power.

Hong Kong has launched (Sep 21) the Green Fintech Competition to promote the adoption of green fintech solutions in the city’s banking industry. Green fintech firms in the city and around the world are invited to participate and showcase how their solutions can be applied. Interested firms will need to submit a market-ready solution by Oct 20 for at least one of the four themes: Net-zero Transition or Transition Planning; Climate Risk Management; Green and Sustainable Finance; and Sustainability or Climate-related Disclosure and Reporting. Or they can choose to tackle the problem statements listed on the website or other problem statements, which they think are relevant to the four themes. Finalists will be invited to join and host exhibition booths in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority event “Green and Sustainable Banking Conference” to be held in December.

Recent events have sparked discussions on the need for a robust regulatory framework for digital finance and virtual asset activities, which is more important than ever to safeguard investors' interests, ensure market confidence, and unlock their full potential in financial markets. Join the discussion on Oct 4 (7 – 8 PM, EDT) to learn more of the opportunities in Hong Kong’s Web3 ecosystem and virtual assets innovation from a panel of policy and regulatory experts from the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. They will lead the discussion on the policy direction of Web3 and virtual assets, the new licensing regime for centralized virtual assets trading platforms and the proposed regulatory regime for stablecoin. Register now.

EDUCATION

Two major international bodies on veterinary education, namely the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons of the United Kingdom recognize the Veterinary Medicine program of the City University of Hong Kong, introduced in 2017 in collaboration with the Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, affirming that the educational quality of the program is in line with international standards. It is also the first dual accredited veterinary program in Asia.

BASIC LAW

The Basic Law (BL) is the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It provides the guarantees to maintain our existing way of life, including socio-economic development, the rights and duties of Hong Kong people, the rule of law and other areas. The Basic Law was put into effect on July 1, 1997.

Q: Has there been any interference in the independence of the Judiciary?

A: No. Hong Kong's robust and respected court system exercises judicial power independently, free from any interference. The power of final adjudication is vested in the Court of Final Appeal of the HKSAR, which may as required invite judges from other common law jurisdictions to sit on the Court of Final Appeal. The principle of trial by jury previously practiced in Hong Kong is maintained. (BL Articles 2; 19; 81; 82; 85; 86)