Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage, Mr Anthony Lau, on the establishment of the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) office at a media session after officiating at the HKTE Office Opening Ceremony this afternoon (October 30):

Reporter: It looks like that more and more Mainlanders are coming to Hong Kong through various talent drives in the past year, but not expatriates. What would you do to diversify or whether diversification of talents is on your agenda, Mr Lau?

Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage: Obviously Hong Kong is an international city. Of course talents from the Mainland are always welcomed, but I think we also need to promote ourselves to talents around the world, so we can get a good mix of talents coming to Hong Kong to flourish in different professions, and continue to ensure Hong Kong being a global international city.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare: If you look at the figures from the past nine months of the Top Talent Pass Scheme, when you count those coming from outside the Mainland, i.e. either they studied overseas or came from overseas, it accounted for around 20 per cent. They might be Mainlanders, but they are overseas graduates, and some of them worked in overseas territories. If you look at the overall effect of talent admission schemes, we have been very successful in attracting quite a large number of people. Of course a majority are from the Mainland, but if you look at the absolute number - those from outside the Mainland, from overseas - it's still quite significant. It's a success for us. Thank you.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Monday, October 30, 2023
Issued at HKT 19:05

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