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Socio-economic Systems - Part 3
Employment and Labour laws
Hong Kong aims at applying as many
international labour conventions as possible. With effect from April 2000,
Hong Kong had applied 40 conventions, exceeding most countries in the
region. The Employment Ordinance provides the framework for a comprehensive
code of employment. It governs the payment of wages, the termination of
employment contracts and the operation of employment agencies. The law
provides statutory holidays with pay, sickness allowance, maternity
protection, rest days, paid annual leave and employment protection for
employees. Hong Kong residents have the right and freedom to form and join
trade unions.
More...
Entry for Investment, Employment
and Visits
To attract quality
immigrants, professionals and more overseas investors to Hong Kong, the
HKSAR Government has set up the "Capital Investment Entrant
Scheme" and the "Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and
Prefessionals", which aim at attracting the inflow of capital and
talents.
Launched
in the third quarter of 2003, the investment threshold under the
"Capital Investment Engrant Scheme" is set at HK$6.5 million
(C$1.3 million) and investment has to be made in a specified list of
permissible investment assets. The new policy is applied to all foreign
nationals, Macau Special Administrative Regions residents, Chinese
nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country,
stateless persons who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign
country with proven re-entry facilities and residents of Taiwan.
For more
information on the Investment Immigrants Scheme
The
HKSAR's policy on entry for employment is open and liberal, in keeping with
our status as an international business and financial center. People who
possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily
available in Hong Kong, or who are in a position to make substantial
contributions to our economy, are generally welcomed to come to work. The
"Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals" -
commenced from July 2003, allows Mainland residents who satisfy the
following eligibility criteria to apply for employment entry under the
Scheme.
For more
information on the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals
Quality
Migrant Admission Scheme is a quota-based scheme seeks to attract highly
skilled or talented persons who are fresh entrants not having the right to
enter and remain in Hong Kong to settle in Hong Kong. The objective of the
scheme is to enhance Hong Kong's economic competitiveness in the global
market. Successful applicants are not required to secure an offer of
local employment before their entry to Hong Kong for settlement. All
applicants are required to fulfill a set of prerequisites before they can
be awarded points under one of the two point-based tests, namely the General Points Test and Achievement-based Points
Test, and compete for quota allocation with other applicants.
Successful applicants under the Scheme may bring their spouses and
unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to Hong Kong provided that
they are capable of supporting and accommodating their dependents on their
own financial resources without relying on public assistance.
For more information on the
Quality Migrant Admission Scheme
In
addition, special schemes have been introduced for the importation of
worker, including the Supplementary Labour Scheme and the Importation of
Foreign Domestic Helpers scheme (FDH).
For
visit/tourism, our entry policy is very liberal. At present, nationals of
more than 170 countries and territories can come for short visits
visa-free. Visitors are required to have adequate funds to cover the
duration of their stay without working and to hold onward or return
tickets. If a visitor wants to stay longer than the visa-free period
allowed (ranging from 6 months to 7 days), he must apply for a visa before
travelling to Hong Kong at either the nearest Chinese diplomatic and
consular mission or by mail or through a local sponsor to the HKSAR
Immigration Department under the "Direct Visa Application
Scheme". Visitors are not allowed to take up employment (paid or
unpaid), to establish or join in any business, or to study in schools as students.
More
information on Hong Kong immigration.
Health
The Hong Kong SAR
Government provides comprehensive medical and health services which are
either free or at only low charges.
The Department of
Health operates 50 maternal and chilsmod health centers in Hong Kong
Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. In addition, the Hospital
Authority runs 46 specialist out-patient clinics and 74 general out-patient
clinics throughout Hong Kong.
Average life
expectancy at birth was 84.7 years for females; 79 years for males in 2004.
Infant mortality in 2004 was 2.7 per 1,000 registered live births. These
achievements are the results of social-economic progress, better education,
improvement in nutrition, hygiene and sanitation and better medical and
health services.
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Home Affairs
- Press Freedom and the
Media
Hong
Kong is a free society. Freedom of expression is vital to Hong Kong. This
freedom is enshrined in the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law (Article 27)
and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Article 16). We have an active press
operating under minimum regulation.
The
Hong Kong Press Council, which was set up by 11 Hong Kong newspapers and 2
representative bodies of the media, now handles public complaints against
intrusion of privacy by member newspapers. The council expanded its terms
of reference with effect from July 2001 and now deals with public
complaints against intrusion of prurience, indecency and sensationalism by
newspaper.
Hong
Kong people are kept well informed by a vigorous media. Hong Kong has one
of the highest newspaper readership in Asia and is also the world's largest
centre for Chinese language publications. There are 752 publications
registered as at September 2005, 49 of which were newspapers; the rest were
mainly periodicals. All international newspapers and magazines are
available in Hong Kong. In addition, there are about 200 domestic and
non-domestic television programme service channels in various languages and
13 radio channels. All households and business organizations have
unfettered access to channels such as BBC, CNN and information available on
the internet.
More...
The
Government sees its role as a catalyst, promoting and encouraging
performing groups and art forms through the provision of financial support
(mainly through the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC)), education
(through the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (APA)) and publicity.
Annual recurrent budgets in terms of subventions to the two bodies come up
to around HK$97.4 million (CAD15.2 million) and there are 10 professional
performing companies and 15 performance venues receiving the subventions.
The
Government is also a provider of infrastructural support in terms of
building and maintaining venues. It operates altogether 15 cultural venues,
64 libraries, a visual arts centre and 13 museums.
More...
The
Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) formulates and coordinates policy and legislation
for developing recreation and sport in Hong Kong. It also coordinates the
strategic planning of recreational and sports facilities. Our principal
objectives for recreation and sport are:
·
To
raise the profile of sport and physical recreation in the community,
emphasizing the link between exercise, physical fitness and a healthy
lifestyle
·
To
coordinate the provision of high quality recreation and sports facilities
·
To
raise the standard and the profile of Hong Kong sport internationally
·
To
work with the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the Sports Federation and Olympic
Committee of Hong Kong, China and other sports bodies to promote physical
recreation and sport throughout the community.
Established in 1 October 2004, the Hong Kong Sports Institute
Limited (HKSI) took over the role of the Hong Kong Sports Development Board
(HKSDB) in elite athlete training and sports development in Hong Kong. The
aim of the HKSI is to provide an environment in which sport talent can be
identified, nurtured and developed to pursue excellence in sport. Other
than sports facilities, the support given to athletes includes elite
coaching and training, sports science, sports medicine, strength and
conditioning, athlete affairs and education, applied research and sports information.
Besides, the Sports
Federation and Olympic Committee of HK, China (the authority for deciding
on HK's participation in international games) also take part in the
promotion of sports in Hong Kong.
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Housing
As at end of 2005,
about 31% of the total population (2.13million) live in public rental
housing. The Hong Kong Housing Authority is a statutory body established in
1973 for implementing the majority of Hong Kong's public housing programme
comprising rental housing, subsidized home ownership and housing for
elderly people.
Apart from
public sector housing, the private sector also has a crucial role to play
in meeting the housing need of the community. At the end of December 2005,
private housing stock was over 1.34 million units. The Government aims to
provide a steady and sufficient supply of land for private housing
development, and streamlining administrative measures to facilitate
property development and supply in the private sector.
More...
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