687 people honored for significant contribution to Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Thursday announced that the HKSAR Chief Executive has awarded a total of 687 people in the 2020 Honors List.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government said that the award recipients this year are from different walks of life with diverse backgrounds. They have made significant contributions to Hong Kong in different areas.

The number of award recipients in the two categories of the Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service and the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service this year is exceptionally large in order to give recognition to meritorious performance by individuals involved in the handling of social incidents and the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

This is the 23rd Honors List since 1997 when Hong Kong returned to its motherland and is published in the HKSAR government gazette on Thursday.

Four people received the Grand Bauhinia Medal, including President of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR Andrew Leung, Convenor of the non-official member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Bernard Charnwut Chan, Renowned philanthropist Chan Tung, and entrepreneur Hui Wing-mau.

In addition, 15 people received the Gold Bauhinia Star, 22 the Silver Bauhinia Star and 40 the Bronze Bauhinia Star.

Four people were awarded Medal for Bravery (Gold), including three late customs officers from the Customs and Excise Department of the HKSAR government. They died on duty during an anti-smuggling patrol operation in January. A number of police officers and medical staff members received medals and service awards.

A presentation ceremony for the awards will be held within this year. The exact timing and arrangement will have to take into account the social distancing measures in force, the spokesman said, adding that announcement of next year's Honors List will return to be made on July 1.