IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government, marking their first collaboration. The partnership aims to enhance the efficiency and quality of public services, supporting the development of Hong Kong as a “Smart City.”

The MoU focuses on the adoption of technologies in four primary areas: innovative immigration clearance modes, biometric identification and authentication, AI-assisted immigration applications, and collaborative robotics technology. This initiative is expected to improve the Immigration Department’s service levels by increasing staff efficiency and meeting growing public demand.

The new Digital 21 Strategy for use of ICT in Hong Kong will be released this year, according to the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer’s annual update on e-government progress. The strategy will include plans for “deploying sensors where possible in city management and encourage the sharing of data, such as those related to traffic and weather, between Government departments”.

Hong Kong’s Commissioner for Transport, Joseph Lai Yee-tak, with the full support of the Secretary for Transport and Housing, and the Government Chief Information Officer, proposes to develop the Traffic and Incident Management System in the Transport Department.

The proposal stemmed from the Transport Department’s (TD) needs to further improve its methods in handling traffic and transport incidents by taking advantage of the advancement in today’s latest traffic management technology.

The E-bill system will provide a single consolidated platform for the straight-through processing of electronic bill presentments and payments. Once the system is in place, merchants will be able to send electronic bills and receive electronic payments from their clients or other merchants. In addition individuals and merchants will be able to receive, view, manage and schedule payments for their electronic bills through their designated e-banking or mobile banking accounts.

GovCloud is a large-scale central IT infrastructure for hosting e-government services for shared use by bureaux and departments. Such services include electronic information management, electronic procurement and others.

An ageing population undoubtedly poses problems for society. However, an elderly person’s twilight years can still be active with better digital and social inclusiveness in society

Growing old is an inevitable part of life. Thanks to modern medicine, people are living longer and healthier lives. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in six people globally will be over the age of 60 by 2030, up from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion. By 2050, this number is expected to more than double to 2.1 billion.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, said, "The Digital 21 Strategy was first published in 1998 and updated three times, in 2001, 2004 and 2008, evolving alongside rapid advances in technology and the changing needs of the community.

"With the advent of wireless and multi-platform technologies, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and big data in recent years, it is time to update the strategy again."

IT experts say more user-friendly alternatives available, and service should focus on B2B applications instead of B2C

The government is planning to review development and usage of digital certificates – also known as e-Cert – to find ways of boosting demand after results have been lacklustre since introducing the service in 2000.

An e-Cert is a digital certificate issued by a certification authority which verifies a user’s identity during authentication of electronic transactions.

The free app - Tell me@1823 - can be downloaded on iPhones or mobiles that use the Android operating system. It was introduced by the 1823 Call Centre, which is operated by the government's Efficiency Unit.

Those wanting to complain or make a request can send text messages, voice recordings or upload photographs and give their location by using the location service on their phone.

In recent years, smart cities have been developed rapidly across the globe and in the Mainland. How can Hong Kong learn from other places in applying smart technologies to deal with various problems, such as ageing population, housing shortage, traffic congestion, air pollution and more? A recent heated discussion in the class brought us inspiration.

In early March, I finished the last lesson of the Master's Degree of smart city for the academic year at the University of Hong Kong. In the lesson, I invited a number of distinguished guests to share their professional knowledge with the students, I also asked the students to present their chosen smart city. They had to use six components, namely people, mobility, economy, government, living, and environment as the analysis framework, while the focus should be on places that Hong Kong could refer to, and the guests would ask them questions on the spot.

“With the advent of wireless and multi-platform technologies, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and big data in recent years, it is time to update the strategy again," Mr So said.

Hong Kong’s commitment to advancing smart transformation continues to gain international recognition, with the city ranked eighth in the Polytechnic University’s 2025 Smart City Index among 73 global cities. The study evaluates the progress of urban innovation across six dimensions: citizens, environment, social landscape, economy, infrastructure and governance.

The index highlights Hong Kong’s strong performance in governance, particularly in the formulation and implementation of smart city policies and plans. The city also ranks first globally in e-government development, underscoring its focus on using technology to enhance public administration and citizen engagement.

In one recent case, the board of directors of a limited company that intended to tap into the Mainland market in early 2011 planned to set up an independent company in Hong Kong for each province and municipality in which they intended to invest. The plan involved setting up more than 10 companies in Hong Kong, and the company directors hoped to complete the incorporation process within three days to facilitate the required registration in the Mainland.

• Smart city is a marketing term used to define the use of technology, and in particular, data collection, to improve how cities function
• We should not be implementing technology for technology’s sake, but rather have an open dialogue with the public to ensure that what we do, what we invest in, and how we build is uniquely tied to the needs of our citizens

Even when keying in confidential data, they can rest assured: These convenient e-services are well-managed by a professional information technology unit - the Central Computer Centre of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.

It stores huge amounts of important, and personal, data and ensures it is secure against hackers and viruses. It provides the infrastructural services for news.gov.hk, the GovHK portal, and a majority of government websites, as well as Internet connectivity and communication between government staff and the public, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In today’s 2023 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee set out 73 new indicators which he said the Government will use to improve governance. Combined with ongoing indicators introduced in last year’s Policy Address, this takes the number of active indicators of the Government’s work progress and outcomes to 150.

Mr Lee said that since taking office the current-term Government has strived to improve governance systems, capabilities, efficacy and execution. After setting out 110 indicators for specific tasks last year, he said the performance of departments had generally met his expectations and had helped to cultivate a result-oriented culture within the Government.

Speaking at an industry forum organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), Mr Mak said, "Cloud computing is a global trend.It is important for the Government to capitalise on this technology to meet rising public demand and expectations.

"We are going to establish a Government Cloud environment progressively over the next few years for supporting a range of business applications with government-wide utility. The aim is to bring about overall improvement opportunities for operation efficiency, customer services, as well as reducing effort, time and risks in the implementation of IT systems," Mr Mak said.

"GovCloud is the Government's first major private cloud computing initiative and is important central information technology (IT) infrastructure with full cloud computing functions. It provides computing resources, including server, storage and network resources, for bureaux and departments," a spokesman for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer said.

"The Government has formulated a strategy to adopt cloud computing in delivering its e-services. We aim to establish a government cloud environment progressively over the next few years to support a range of government-wide applications," a spokesman for the OGCIO said.

The programme aims to promote digital inclusion among the elderly.

In a recent press release, The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) announced the launch of the new Enriched Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Training Programme for the Elderly.