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Innovation and Technology

police, the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre and the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited to deepen the community's understanding of cyber security.

The government supports I&T projects that benefit the public or specific groups through the $500 million Innovation and Technology Fund for Better Living. The 33 projects approved so far cover health, education, safety and transport, with a wide range of target beneficiaries.

The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund encourages social entrepreneurs to develop innovative ideas, products and services to address poverty and social exclusion as well as foster society's well-being and cohesion. By supporting cross-sectoral collaboration, the fund aims to enable social entrepreneurs to thrive. As at end-2020, it had funded 262 projects benefiting over 250,000 people.

On digital inclusion, the government has put in place a web-based learning portal, enriched ICT training and an outreach programme to encourage the elderly in applying ICT in daily life. The government also promotes adoption of accessible website and mobile application designs to facilitate use by the disabled.

In May, the Innovation and Technology Commission launched the Distance Business Programme to support enterprises to adopt IT solutions to continue their business and services during the pandemic. Over 38,000 applications were received during the application period from May to October.

Cooperation with Mainland

The government participates in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international I&T hub.

Following the announcement of the Central People's Government in 2019 to relax the limitation on exporting human genetic resources from the Mainland to Hong Kong, three Mainland branches established by Hong Kong's universities were approved in 2020 by the Ministry of Science and Technology to apply to export human genetic resources to Hong Kong for research. The new policy will promote the development of healthcare technologies in Hong Kong. In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology agreed in September to expand from 10 to 19 the number of local R&D institutions eligible for lodging applications for the National Key R&D Programme.

The HKSAR Government also promotes technological cooperation with the Mainland through regular mechanisms, including the Mainland-Hong Kong Science and Technology Cooperation Committee, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong Expert Group on Cooperation in Technology and Innovation.

Applying Local R&D to Combat COVID-19

A range of Hong Kong R&D solutions were used in the fight against COVID-19. They included:

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