Quality Migrant Admission Scheme revised
On January 18, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced changes to the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme to cast a wider net for quality migrants.
The upper age limit of 50 has been lifted so older applicants are now eligible.
The General Points Test has been adjusted so that younger (in particular those between 18 and 24) degree holders have a better chance to meet the minimum passing mark for further assessment. Points were originally accorded only for “five years or more” working experience. To cast a wider net for quality applicants, points also will be given for “two to five years” working experience. Extra points will be given to applicants who are proficient in another language in addition to Chinese (Putonghua or Cantonese) or English.
The extension-of-stay requirement for entrants admitted through the program’s Achievement-based Points Test (APT) has also been streamlined. The Immigration Department will grant an extension to an APT entrant and his/her dependents if the department is satisfied that he/she has the financial means to sustain their living in Hong Kong.
The annual quota of 1,000 entrants under the program remains unchanged. The changes will take immediate effect, and the new revised General Points Test will apply to all applications already submitted and being processed.
Joint Customs visits to start March 6
Hong Kong and U.S. Customs officers will conduct a series of joint factory observation visits in Hong Kong starting March 6.
Head of Trade Controls of the Customs and Excise Department Cheung Sai-yan said the joint visits are part of the ongoing cooperation between the two Customs authorities to facilitate legitimate textiles and clothing trade, as well as to combat illegal transhipment of textiles and clothing products.
“The joint visits will keep the U.S. up-to-date on the manufacture of textiles and clothing products in Hong Kong and the implementation of Hong Kong’s origin control program for textiles and clothing exports,” said Mr. Cheung. “The visits will also facilitate a better understanding by the U.S. Customs authorities of the effectiveness of Hong Kong’s origin control system in ensuring that textiles and clothing exports claiming to be products of Hong Kong are genuinely manufactured in Hong Kong.
“This will also be conducive to greater facilitation for the legitimate textiles trade, especially at a time when restrictive measures are still in place against certain textiles exports from other economies in the region,” he added.
The joint visit teams, comprising Hong Kong and U.S. Customs officers, will visit only those textile factories that have given prior consent.
Mr. Cheung said team members will not undertake any enforcement activities during the visits. Hong Kong Customs officers will do so, if necessary. As in previous rounds of joint visits, the visits will not disrupt the normal production and operation of the factories.
Hong Kong population hits 6.96 million
Hong Kong’s population reached a provisional 6,963,100 at end-2007, according to the Census and Statistics Department, representing a provisional increase of 53,600 from end-2006.
The natural increase of the population from end-2006 to end-2007, obtained by subtracting the number of deaths (38,900) from the number of births (69,600) amounted to 30,700.
The overall population increased by a provisional 53,600 over the same period, comprising a natural increase of 30,700 and a net movement (i.e. inflow less outflow) of 22,900 residents.
Births and inflow of One-way Permit holders were important constituents of the overall population increase.
HK students stand out at Physics Olympiad
Hong Kong secondary school students won three first, five second and 16 third prizes at the 4th Pan-Pearl River Delta plus Chinese Elite Schools Physics Olympiad. As the only student scoring full marks in the competition, Hong Kong student Leung Ka-hei stood out from the 279 participants as the Best Contestant, the Special Administrative Region’s first.
Another first-prize winner, Fung Cheok-yin, was the first female Hong Kong student to grab a medal in a cross-territory physics competition.
The competition was jointly organized by the Hong Kong Physics Olympiad Committee and the Physics Teaching Professional Commission of the Chinese Society of Education. The competition aimed to promote physics education and provide challenging learning opportunities for young physicists from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei.
The Olympiad was held February 14 at the Fung Hon Chu Gifted Education Centre in Hong Kong and Shenzhen Secondary School on the Mainland.
Of the 279 participants, 229 were from nine provinces on the Mainland; the other 50 came from Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei.
The 29 Hong Kong participants were trainees of the Physics Enhancement Program and participated in the Support Measures for the Exceptionally Gifted Students Scheme of the Education Bureau. With outstanding performance in the Hong Kong Physics Olympiad 2007, they were subsequently selected to take part in a series of enhancement courses and to join the competition.
More information on the competition can be found on the Web site of the Support Measures for the Exceptionally Gifted Students Scheme.
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