Following is the speech (English portion) by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, at Swire Group's TrustTomorrow "Connecting for a Brighter Tomorrow" event this afternoon (September 26):

Mr Guy Bradley (Chairman of John Swire & Sons (HK)), Hon Tik Chi-yuen (Legislative Council Member),

     Thank you so much for having me today for this event. Since I took over the post of the Secretary for Labour and Welfare last year, I have made it a very important part of my job to reach out to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and to different stakeholders including the business sector. I believe despite all the resources and all the power we have as the Government, we cannot solve all the problems simply on our own. We have to join hands with the business sector and the NGOs to work together. It's not just for the money. For me, my own takeaway, first of all, is the idea.

     We need new ideas, and usually for a private trust, you are more willing to take risk. Even if you made a wrong bet, the consequence for a private trust is more bearable. As for the Government, we really have to be very careful with what we do. If you are the first one to try out and if the concept is a proven one, we are very happy to take it over and fund it on a regular basis. I think this is a collaborative way for the Government to work together with all kinds of different foundations to make Hong Kong a better place.

     Secondly, I see a lot of efficiency in private trust. It's all because of the rules and regulations of the Government - say if you give me a free place to use, I will have to refurbish it. To refurbish it as a government premises, it takes maybe nine months or one year to complete all the procedures. For me, it requires lots of very precious space and time. But say if the private sector can do a little bit more, you refurbish it, you make it "ready and go", you save us months of time, and then all the people who need the service can enjoy it right away. This is the way I see it, that we can just work together, and we are trying it already.

     Within my remit, I try it with what we call the Community Living Room project. I want to achieve a lot, so when I received invitation from Guy, I'm going to come. First of all, I want to meet the Swire Group Charitable Trust. I want to connect with you all and let you know the concept and the belief of this term of the Government. I see a lot of great outcome coming from TrustTomorrow's fund. I look forward to learning from you all about the great things we have achieved with all the money.

     I know for this gathering, some of you may prefer me to speak in Cantonese, so I am going to switch to it. Guy, please put on your headphones.

Ends/Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Issued at HKT 18:26

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