Speech by Ir Tony Wong, JP, Government Chief Information Officer, at the “Award Ceremony of Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024 Hong Kong SAR” (with photos)

Denny (Mr Denny Deng, CEO, HK Office, Huawei International), Alex (Mr Alex Wong, Deputy CEO, HK Office, Huawei International), Karen (Ms Karen FUNG, Chief Marketing Officer & General Manager, InnoPreneur and FutureSkills, HKPC), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon! It is my honour to join you all at this year’s “Award Ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024 (HK)”. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Huawei and Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) for organising this competition, which not only provides a remarkable platform for tertiary students to enrich their ICT knowledge and broaden their horizons, but also nurtures Innovation and Technology (I&T) talents conducive to the sustainable development of Hong Kong.

I&T is a major driver to spur economic development. The Government promulgated the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint (“the Blueprint”) in December last year, setting out Hong Kong’s overall I&T development directions in the next 5 to 10 years from the perspective of top-level planning and design as well as broad development directions and key strategies. In the 2023 Policy Address, the Chief Executive unveiled a number of key measures to propel the development of Hong Kong into an international I&T centre along the directions set out in the Blueprint. Among others, in order to further advance the digital transformation of the Government, we will establish the Digital Policy Office which will be entrusted with the responsibility for formulating policies on digital government, data governance and information technology to drive the delivery of more data-driven and citizen-centric digital public services. For the I&T industry, the Cyberport will establish an AI supercomputing centre, which will come into operation by phases starting from next year, to provide sufficient computing resource to support advanced R&Ds and to foster the development of AI ecosystem in Hong Kong. All these measures need the support of a robust technology talent pool which requires all I&T stakeholders to cooperate in every aspect.

Over the years, Huawei has been at the forefront of talent development with an aim to cultivate talent to meet the demands of digital transformation. All these initiatives share the same goal with the HKSAR Government in talent grooming. To foster local talent to support the development of I&T in Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government will develop the Northern Metropolis University Town, facilitate the establishment of universities of applied sciences and establish the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology, and actively promote STEAM education in secondary and primary schools. These measures will open up more collaboration opportunities for the Government, academics and the industry to join hands in the healthy development of the ICT talent ecosystem of Hong Kong.

Again, thank you for having me here today. I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to all the winners, and I’m looking forward to being amazed by the innovative tech solutions that all of you will bring to life in the future.

Before I close, I wish to make an important appeal to all Hong Kong citizens attending the event today. I am sure you all are well aware of the upcoming District Council Election to be held on next Sunday, the 10th of December. It is the first large-scale territory-wide election being held after the reform of the District Councils and improving the district governance system of HKSAR, and is of particular significance and related to the well-being of citizens and good governance of the HKSAR. Remember to cast your vote, and also encourage your family and friends to cast their votes for a better community.

Thank you.

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