團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation’s Post

Jason Leung, Head of Land & Housing Research, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, was interviewed by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Backchat to share his insights on whether Light Public Housing (LPH) would be an answer to today's housing shortage issue.   Jason regarded LPH as the interim solution for its three-fold benefits: faster construction lead time, enhancement of people’s livelihoods, and cheaper rental pricing but better quality compared to subdivided units. Hence, he pointed out that LPH would be the quickest solution for helping those living in subdivided units and yearning for improvement in their living conditions.   Jason highlighted that LPH, transitional housing, and traditional public rental housing well complemented each other. Having different eligibility criteria, they form layers of safety net to address various public needs.   Listen to the Podcast: https://bit.ly/3zsXooL (Light Public Housing Applications: 4:45 - 9:15, 16:30 – 18:13, 21:22 – 23:43)   Hong Kong Housing Landscape Navigator 2024 Full Report: https://bit.ly/4bvEwmz Press Release: https://bit.ly/4cJixcL

Dicky Chow, Head of Healthcare & Social Innovation, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), Dorothy Yeung, MPH, Assistant Researcher, OHKF, and Lillian Shu, Intern, OHKF, wrote a commentary on the standardization of advance care planning (ACP) for citizens to make their fine life planning.   The three recommend strengthening the cooperation between the government and relevant sectors, particularly the 醫院管理局 (HA) and organizations with practical experience in the community. The following principles can be considered for the development of a standardized ACP framework, including: first, increasing the participation of the HA and various social welfare organizations to ensure effective communication and cooperation among all parties involved; second, strengthening the training of professionals in the field of end-of life care to improve their service quality and professional level; third, enhancing the eHealth system to realize data sharing and promote efficiency in resource allocation; and fourth, conducting empirical research for unceasing improvement and refinement of the ACP framework by continuously collecting opinions and suggestions from the public.   They proposed the authorities to provide systematic ACP training courses for staff at all levels and appropriate professional counselling services for citizens with different health status so that their medical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs can be met. As a result, the citizens likely are enabled to live out their final years according to their own wishes.   Read the Article: https://bit.ly/3xECUcf   Adding Life To Years: Comprehensive End-Of-Life Care For All Full Report: https://bit.ly/4cN1pCM Press Release: https://bit.ly/4cnp3WI

團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation will hold the "Our Hong Kong Stories" series event on 26 July, inviting Dr Jim Thompson, Chairman and Founder of the Crown Worldwide Group of Companies, Chairman of the Asian Youth Orchestra, and Honorary President of the 善寧會, to share his long experience in Hong Kong and the various challenges the city has faced, and why it always makes a strong comeback. Register now! Dr Jim Thompson has lived in Hong Kong for almost 50 years. He regarded Hong Kong as one of the best places for commerce. Since it is very convenient to do business in Hong Kong, he has based the world headquarters of his company here. What he loves about Hong Kong is that it has come through in every case and come out stronger. He found Hong Kong a wonderful place to live due to its good food and attractive scenery. Date: 26 July, 2024 (Friday) Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm Keynote Speaker: Dr Jim Thompson Opening Speaker: Bosco Law Host: Nury Vittachi Language: English Register: https://bit.ly/3VzILHw

團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation will hold the "Our Hong Kong Stories" series event on 26 July, inviting Dr Jim Thompson, Chairman and Founder of the Crown Worldwide Group of Companies, Chairman of the Asian Youth Orchestra, and Honorary President of the 善寧會, to share his long experience in Hong Kong and the various challenges the city has faced, and why it always makes a strong comeback. Register now! Date: 26 July, 2024 (Friday) Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm Keynote Speaker: Dr Jim Thompson Opening Speaker: Bosco Law Host: Nury Vittachi Language: English Register: https://bit.ly/3VzILHw

Dicky Chow, Head of Healthcare & Social Innovation, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), and Curtis Lam, Assistant Researcher, OHKF, wrote a commentary in ta kung pao 香港大公報, regarding Hong Kong's potential to lead a holistic development of sustainable finance. They discussed means of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) development from a social perspective and gave suggestions.   Business goals and social goals are not opposites, but complementary. What investment can be made by companies to build a sustainable business model? How to assist in social development and improve people's lives for realization of the vision of creating shared value between business and social sectors? Click on the article to learn more!   Read the Article: https://bit.ly/45N9QMj   Navigating The Future of Climate-Related Disclosures: Preparing for ISSB Compliance Event Recap: https://bit.ly/3RTB7qE

The commentary written by Dr Jane Lee, President of 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, entitled Hong Kong Must Fall in Love with Art to be a Bona Fide Cultural Hub, was published in 南華早報.   Over the past 20 years, Hong Kong has emerged as a global powerhouse within the art world and has become a strategic gateway for art collectors and investors. How can Hong Kong further reinforce its position as an art market leader? How to nurture local artists and creatives? Click on the article to learn more.   Read the Article: https://bit.ly/3xLYQSH

Dr Jane Lee, President of 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, as a member of Commission on Poverty, was interviewed by Now TV to discuss Hong Kong's poverty alleviation policies and current situation amidst a review on the concept of poverty alleviation.   Dr Lee mentioned the long-standing misinterpretation of the poverty line and the distortion of its original intention. Frankly, defining the poverty line is so complex that is affected by various factors, which cannot be explicitly illustrated with a few words or figures. She explained that the focus of effective poverty alleviation was not on this "line", but on how to target different groups of people, particularly the elderly, subdivided housing households, and single-parent households. Targeted poverty alleviation cannot be done unless diverse difficulties faced by the people are fully fathomed.   Dr Lee indicated that the government had made a good start by launching the current 3 poverty alleviation programmes, which were regarded as pilot schemes. However, poverty alleviation cannot rely solely on the Commission on Poverty. The government is advised to set up key performance indicators (KPI). Tackling intergenerational poverty and improving the education and public rental housing systems are priority tasks. Hence, assisting underprivileged groups in home ownership and increasing of upward mobility chances for their children through education are the core of the eradication of poverty.   Watch the Show: Clip 1: https://bit.ly/4cvmbqs Clip 2: https://bit.ly/4cw2Sxg

團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation celebrates the 27th anniversary of the establishment of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 香港特別行政區政府 of the People's Republic of China.   #中國香港 #27周年 #HongKongChina #27thAnniversary

Kenny Shui, Vice President cum Co-Head of Public Policy Institute, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), and Pascal Siu, Senior Researcher, OHKF, wrote a commentary on ta kung pao 香港大公報, regarding strengthening the reliability of ESG report through high-quality verification. Kenny and Pascal pointed out that, although many companies were actively optimizing ESG disclosure, the reports varied in quality and depth. This issue emanates from the general lack of professional knowledge to prepare ESG reports in some companies in Hong Kong. Coupled with resource constraints, they encounter difficulty in affording the cost of hiring an external preparation team. Particularly for smaller companies, they face greater challenges in completing a high-standard and high-quality ESG report. In fact, companies may use the tools and free online resources provided by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to calculate greenhouse gas emissions and improve the quality of their disclosure. The two observed that there was a lack of third-party verification after companies completed their ESG or climate disclosure reports. In the future, by phases and in stages, the government may draw reference to the European Union's "Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive" for introducing certification requirements for companies of different sizes. For further enhancement of the reliability and authority of ESG or climate disclosure reports, Hong Kong is suggested to adopt certification standards that are widely recognized around the world, for instance, the "International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000", as the benchmark for companies' conduct of certification work. Read the Article: https://bit.ly/3KO8R4z "Navigating the Future of Climate-Related Disclosures: Preparing for ISSB Compliance" Event Recap: https://bit.ly/3wXNU48

Victor Kwok, Assistant Research Director and Head of Education & Youth, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, responded to the government announcement that the tuition fee levels for publicly funded programmes of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities would increase for 3 years consecutively. His response was quoted and forwarded by 13 published and online media.   Victor indicated that gradually increasing the tuition fees of UGC-funded universities was an appropriate method for supporting the sustainable development of Hong Kong's higher education sector. The average increase of 5.5% is relatively mild, which shows that the government has tried its best to balance the affordability of the public and the financial health. He mentioned that the tuition fees of UGC-funded universities had not been adjusted since the 1996/97 academic year. Given the current cost recovery rate has dropped to about 13%, implying nearly 90% is paid by taxpayers rather than users, it can be observed that the situation is not ideal.   In addition, as Hong Kong is actively developing into an international education hub, the higher education sector must balance its revenue and expenditure before expanding its overseas enrollment plan. Otherwise, hidden costs of some degrees will inevitably be borne by the institutions. Therefore, the adjustment of tuition fees is a responsible approach.   In his views, the basic principle of increasing tuition fees is to ensure that financial factors will not refrain students from enrollment. Hence, when raising tuition fees, the government is recommended to simultaneously increase relevant student loans and grants, and undertake prompt assessment of the burden of the increase in student loans on young people so as to assure equal opportunities for education and development are provided to the youth.   Read the Article: etnet: https://bit.ly/3VRNshm Ta Kung Wen Wei: https://bit.ly/4bcnGJ8 Hong Kong Commercial Daily: https://bit.ly/4c7TMak