To enhance the understanding of the local social welfare sector about the main contents of the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Department of Social Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Social Welfare Department and the Hong Kong Social Welfare Sector Joint Action Against COVID-19 jointly organised training workshops on the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC for the local social welfare sector from November 20 to 29. A summary and sharing session was held today (December 3) in hybrid mode in both physical and online formats.

     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, attended the session in person and shared their views. More than ten members from the management of social welfare organisations also spoke on their reflections on the training workshops.

     Mr Sun said in his remarks that General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasises ensuring and improving people's well-being in the course of pursuing development. He also encourages everyone to work hard together to meet the people's aspirations for a better life. Mr Sun briefed participants on various social welfare initiatives in Hong Kong, such as the On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services for children with special needs, the promotion of gerontechnology to enhance the quality of life of elderly persons and the Strive and Rise Programme which draws tripartite collaboration between the Government, the business sector and the community to support the upward mobility of junior secondary school students in a targeted manner. He said the measures are to ensure people's access to childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance.

     Mr Sun hoped that Hong Kong's experience in social welfare policies can contribute to the country and protect people's fundamental interests. He encouraged participants to stay engaged with the people and their communities. More measures should be adopted to deliver real benefits to the people and win their approval and address people's pressing concerns.

     In her speech, Miss Lee mentioned that the report delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the 20th National Congress of the CPC emphasises a people-centered philosophy of development to ensure a more complete and lasting sense of fulfillment, happiness and security for the people. Despite the differences in Hong Kong and Mainland's social welfare systems, the social welfare sectors of both places shared the same mission of improving people's well-being. She encouraged social workers of the two places to enhance exchanges and learn about the successful cases from each other to improve people's well-being and quality of life.

     The commencement ceremony of the training workshops on the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC for the local social welfare sector was held on November 20. Five online lectures were delivered by Mainland officials and renowned academics. The topics included the essence of the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, political capacity building of the CPC, current status of the Mainland's social work development and poverty alleviation work. The training workshops have received overwhelming response with more than 2 000 registrants from the social welfare sector.

Ends/Saturday, December 3, 2022
Issued at HKT 20:14

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