The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) and the National Time Service Center (NTSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) held a plaque-unveiling ceremony for the Hong Kong Station of the National Standard Time and Joint Atomic Time at the HKO Headquarters today (May 28). The ceremony was officiated by the Under Secretary for the Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong; the Director of the HKO, Dr Chan Pak-wai; the Director of the NTSC, Dr Zhang Shougang; and Research Fellow of the NTSC Dr Yuan Haibo. Through the first Hong Kong Station, the HKO provides the NTSC with raw measurement data for the generation and maintenance of the Joint Atomic Time and collaborates in promoting the development of the Joint Atomic Time. 

     Delivering his speech, Dr Chan said, "Since the signing of the co-operation agreement between the HKO and the NTSC on September 27, 2025, both parties have actively developed collaborative projects in time measurement, timekeeping, and time service. We are grateful to the NTSC for providing the HKO with its first passive hydrogen atomic clock and standard time transmission equipment. Through the efforts of professionals from both sides, an accurate and stable national time source has been introduced to Hong Kong, contributing to the support of Hong Kong's time service and also to the nation's ability to maintain its time standard."

     In his speech, Dr Zhang said, "Time is a vital strategic resource for the nation, and high precision time synchronisation is a core technological foundation for regional collaborative development. Being the only specialised and core institution in China dedicated to time and frequency scientific research and responsible for the generation, maintenance and dissemination of China's National Standard Time (UTC (NTSC)), the NTSC has always adhered to its mission of 'keeping the nation's time and providing accurate time service'. It has deeply cultivated key core technologies in the time and frequency field, ensuring that the accuracy and stability of UTC (NTSC) have consistently ranked among the world's best, providing a solid and reliable time guarantee for national scientific and technological progress, industrial development, and national security. The deployment and construction of the standard time transmission equipment in Hong Kong is a concrete measure by the NTSC to promote the deep integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the overall development of the nation, and also a practical step in promoting Hong Kong's participation in the generation of China's National Time Standard for the first time." 

     The UTC(NTSC) is a standard time generated and maintained by the NTSC of the CAS. It is eight hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) (i.e. UTC+8 hours). In recent years, the deviation between the UTC(NTSC) generated and maintained by the NTSC and UTC has remained within two nanoseconds, achieving the smallest deviation from UTC internationally. The Joint Atomic Time is calculated by the NTSC using multiple high-performance atomic clocks and advanced comparison measurement systems. It provides a stable time reference for the nation and serves as a backup for the UTC(NTSC). The time information is also regularly provided to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France for the calculation of the International Atomic Time and the generation of UTC.

Ends/Thursday, May 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:18

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