The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, visited Sha Tin District today (September 28) and met with local residents. He visited a community rehabilitation day centre, where he interacted with service users to listen to their views on the upcoming Policy Address. He also inspected a refurbished public rental housing (PRH) flat in the district to understand the Housing Department's efforts in combating tenancy abuse of PRH flats.

     The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; and the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Cheung, also joined relevant parts of the visit.

     Accompanied by the District Officer (Sha Tin), Mr Frederick Yu, Mr Lee and the officials visited the family home of a person with disabilities and her carer in Wo Che Estate to learn more about their daily lives and caring issues.

     Afterwards, Mr Lee visited the SAHK New Territories East Community Rehabilitation Day Centre to understand its rehabilitation training services provided to individuals with physical and cognitive impairments and support for carers. There, he interacted with service users.

     Mr Lee said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has implemented a series of measures to strengthen support for persons with disabilities and their carers, including increasing the number of district support centres for persons with disabilities and quotas for various rehabilitation services. A pilot project was launched in the third quarter of last year by establishing two integrated community rehabilitation centres to provide more flexible and appropriate support for persons with severe disabilities. Operated by a charitable organisation commissioned by the Social Welfare Department, the Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183 commenced operation in September last year. The HKSAR Government will continue to enhance relevant work to build a caring and inclusive community, he added.

     Mr Lee and the officials then inspected a PRH flat in Sha Kok Estate that was recovered and refurbished by the Housing Department as part of its efforts in combating tenancy abuse of PRH flats. At the PRH flat, Mr Lee and the officials learned more about its facilities and the department's relevant work.

     Mr Lee noted that the Housing Department has been taking multipronged measures to combat tenancy abuse through preventive detection, investigations, publicity and education, and enhancement of the "Well-off Tenants Policies" and the "Addition Policy", in order to safeguard the proper use of valuable PRH resources. The Housing Department is currently reviewing the workflow and standards of refurbishment works for vacant flats to expedite the work progress, with a view to allocating the flats to PRH applicants as soon as possible.

     Mr Lee and the officials then visited a market and a cooked food stall in Sha Kok Estate to interact with vendors and residents to listen to their opinions on the Government's policies.

     "I attach importance to policy areas closely related to people's livelihood, such as the support for persons with disabilities and supply of public housing. Through interactions with members of the public, I could feel their love for Hong Kong and their aspirations for life. My team and I will continue to listen to the views of various sectors of society, with a view to building a vibrant economy for a caring community," Mr Lee said.

     The public consultation exercise for the 2024 Policy Address was launched in mid-July. Mr Lee appealed to members of the public to actively give their views on issues of their interests to the Government.

Ends/Saturday, September 28, 2024
Issued at HKT 13:53

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