The local employment market has recently been hit by a spate of unfavourable news. Following a theme park’s announcement of layoffs earlier, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released last week the latest unemployment rate of 3.4 percent for the first three months of 2016, registering an increase of 0.1 percentage point over the previous figure from December 2015 to February 2016. This is the highest level since late 2013. The unemployment rate saw an increase in most industry sectors, with increases more noticeable in the retail and construction sectors. Some may think that the latest unemployment figure went up only slightly and there is no need to worry. However, when taking into account other economic data and the prevailing social circumstances, the unemployment rate has actually rung the alarm bells for us. It is time we contemplated the challenges facing Hong Kong in its future economic and social development......

Many places in the world are facing the problem of tight water resources. The situation has been aggravated by climate change as well as unpredictable droughts and floods in recent years. In this regard, the Hong Kong SAR Government has been devising long-term planning for future water resources management to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Recently, members of the Legislative Council Panel on Development have also put forward some recommendations for Hong Kong after visiting a desalination plant in Singapore and studying the country's strategies and experiences on water resources management. To give you a more comprehensive understanding of the issue, let me here provide a brief introduction of our total water management strategy and related measures......

Most citizens use lifts every day. As the society advances, we demand not only basic lift safety, but also a reliable and comfortable ride. To this end, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has recently launched the Quality Lift Service Recognition Scheme to encourage the responsible persons for lifts in private buildings to enhance lift safety, comfortability and reliability to meet users’ demand for quality lift services......

Apart from enriching the spiritual life of our community, cultural, creative and arts activities offer creative young talents with alternatives other than traditional industries to develop their potentials. However, due to scarce land resources in Hong Kong, these activities inevitably need to compete with other social and economic pursuits for limited space and are very often put at a disadvantageous position. We are concerned about the situation. We will continue to do our best to increase land supply and provide space necessary for cultural, creative and arts activities through planning and other appropriate measures......

Taking a leisure walk along the Victoria Harbourfront to enjoy the beautiful scenery has become a favorite pastime for many local residents. Creating a more accessible harbourfont and enabling the public to get closer to the Victoria Harbour has always been one of objectives we are working hard to achieve. The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) is studying the feasibility of building a boardwalk underneath the Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) in North Point. The proposed boardwalk will allow the public to walk continuously along the waterfront from North Point to Quarry Bay, and would not be interrupted by high-rise buildings or major roads......