Unless otherwise specified by us in this Website or pursuant to separate licences granted by us, you must not download¹, copy, reproduce², publish, transmit, distribute or resell any pictures³ from this Website in any format and by any means. For requisition of our agreement/ licence for use of our pictures, please send an email to gohk@had.gov.hk for enquiry or application.

No property or copyright in any picture shall pass to the applicant whether on its submission or on our grant of reproduction rights in respect thereof. Reproduction rights (if and when granted) are strictly limited to the use specified, personal to the applicant and may not be assigned, nor may any picture submitted to the applicant be loaned or transferred to third parties unless otherwise agreed in writing.

The applicant shall not use picture in any way, or in connection with any material, which is unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, abusive, hateful, offensive or otherwise objectionable or unreasonable or infringing upon any laws or regulations or intellectual property right or proprietary rights or confidentiality obligations and shall indemnify us against any claims, damages, proceedings, loss or costs arising from such use. The applicant shall not use the picture in any way that could be construed as being adverse or derogatory to the image of Hong Kong or us or the subjects featured in the picture.

The simplified Chinese characters on this website are translated from the original text in traditional Chinese characters by a machine translation software. If any discrepancy arises, the original traditional Chinese pages should be treated as the official version. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is not responsible for any loss or liability due to errors arising from the translations.

By using this Website, you are bound by the terms of use stated herein.

Information

This Website presents information, data, content, photo, picture, video, audio and other materials and items, tangible or intangible (collectively, the "Information"). If we agree to grant you access to this Website, such access shall be a non-exclusive, non-transferable and limited licence to access this Website in accordance with these Terms of Use.

Change of Terms of Use

We may change, add to or delete terms from these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion without notice or liability to you. By continuing to use this Website following such modifications to the Terms of Use, you agree to be bound by such modifications.

Changes to Website

We may, at our absolute discretion and at any time, without prior notice to you, add to, amend or remove material from this Website, or alter the presentation, substance, or functionality of this Website.

User Conduct on this Website

As a condition of your use of this Website, you may not:

1. trespass, break into, access, use or attempt to trespass, break into, access or use any other parts of our servers, and/or any data areas for which you have not been authorized by us;
2. restrict or inhibit any other user from using and browsing this Website;
3. post or transmit any unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, abusive, hateful, offensive, or otherwise objectionable or unreasonable information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or foreign law, infringe any intellectual property right, proprietary rights or confidentiality obligations of others;
4. post or transmit any advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or schemes or other unsolicited commercial communication, or engage in spamming or flooding;
5. post or transmit any information or software which contains a virus, trojan horse, worm or other harmful component;
6. post, publish, transmit, reproduce, distribute or in any way exploit any Information obtained through this Website for commercial purposes without our prior written permission (unless otherwise specified by us in this Website or pursuant to separate licence granted by us);
7. upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way, any component of this Website itself or any Information obtained through this Website which is protected by copyright, or other proprietary right, or create derivative works with respect thereto, without our prior written permission (unless otherwise specified by us in this Website or pursuant to separate licence granted by us);

You have no rights in or to the Information and you will not use the Information, except as permitted under these Terms of Use and/or in accordance with separate licence granted by us.

Third Party Information

The Information may contain information provided by third parties or sourced by us from business information sources and other references or sources.

We are not responsible if any such Information is not up-to-date. We do not separately verify the Information provided by such third party or agency and you are cautioned thus to the reliability and accuracy of the Information accordingly. We do not accept any responsibility whatsoever in respect of any such Information. Any use of and reliance of such Information is at your own risk.

Prohibition of Access

Whilst we shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide users with access to this Website twenty-four (24) hours per day, we cannot guarantee your access and you acknowledge that we make no representation or warranty that this Website will be available. You are responsible for your own hardware, software and facilities and we cannot guarantee compatibility of this Website with your systems.

We shall be entitled, at our sole discretion, to (a) temporarily suspend this Website to upgrade or modify this Website, and/or (b) restrict your access to and use of this Website where we consider it reasonably necessary for the operation of this Website. We shall not be responsible for any loss or damage you may incur as a result of any such suspension, restriction or prohibition.

We reserve the right at all times to prohibit or deny your access to this Website or any part thereof immediately and without notice, where we are of the opinion that you have breached any of the terms contained in these Terms of Use or that such prohibition or denial is appropriate, desirable or necessary in our sole opinion.

Links to and from this Website

Links on this Website may take you to other sites and you acknowledge and agree that we have no responsibility for the accuracy or availability of any Information provided by linked websites.

Links to other websites do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by us of such websites or the Information, products, advertising or other materials available on those websites.

Embedded Content

Embedded content (including embedded text, images and maps) on this Website are embedded from third party hosted sites such as Google. Embedded content is subject to the licence terms of the website or digital platform at which such content is hosted or the licence terms imposed by the owner of such content. Embedded content may be used or linked to only in accordance with the terms of the relevant licence. You are liable for any consequences of failure to comply with those licence terms.

Intellectual Property Right

All intellectual property rights subsisting in respect of this Website belong to us or have been lawfully licensed to us for use on this Website. All rights under applicable laws are hereby reserved. While you may download or print material from this Website for your personal, non-commercial use, it remains the property of Home Affairs Department, unless otherwise stipulated.

Unless otherwise specified by us in this Website or pursuant to separate licence granted by us, you are not allowed to upload, download, post, publish, reproduce, transmit or distribute in any way any component of this Website itself or create derivative works with respect thereto as this Website is copyrighted under applicable laws.

You agree that we are free to use, disclose, adopt and modify all and any ideas, concepts, know-how, proposals, suggestions, comments and other communications and information provided by you to us ("Feedback") in connection with this Website without any payment to you. You hereby waive and agree to waive all and any rights and claims for any consideration, fees, royalties, charges and/or other payments in relation to our use, disclosure, adoption and/or modification of any or all of your Feedback.

Limited Liability and Warranty

All Information is for your general reference or use pursuant to any licence separately granted by us only. We do not accept any responsibility whatsoever in respect of such Information.

Your access to and use of our Website is at your sole risk and is provided "As is", "As available". This Website is for your personal use only and we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, any products advertised, bought or sold using this Website or any warranties on merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Reference in this Website to any third party products, events or services do not constitute or imply our endorsement or recommendation of any kind.

Without limiting any exclusion specifically provided for in these Terms of Use, we shall in no event be liable for any costs, damages or liability for any unauthorized use of this Website or breach of security relating to this Website.

We do not guarantee or assume any responsibility that and you acknowledge that we make no representation or warranty, that:

1. the Information on this Website is accurate, adequate, current or reliable, or may be used for any purpose other than for general reference or as specified in any separate licence granted by us;
2. the Information on this Website is free of defect, error, omission, virus or anything which may change, erase, add to or damage your software, data or equipment;
3. messages sent through the internet will be free from interception, corruption or loss;
4. access to this Website will be available or be uninterrupted; or
5. defects in this Website will be corrected.

In no event shall we be liable (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) to you or any other person for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential damages, including any loss of business or profit, arising out of any use, or inability to use, errors or omission in this Website or the Information, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

You will exercise and rely solely on your own skill and judgment in your use of this Website and use and interpretation of the Information. You are responsible to ensure that your use of this Website and the Information complies with all applicable legal requirements.

The limitation of liability contained in these Terms of Use will apply to the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us, our employees, agents, officers, directors, agents, contractors, suppliers and other representatives harmless from and against all liabilities, damages, claims, actions, costs and expenses (including legal fees), in connection with or arising from your breach of these Terms of Use and/or your use of this Website. We may, if necessary, participate in the defence of any claim or action and any negotiations for settlement. You will not make any settlement that may adversely affect our rights or obligations without our prior written approval. We reserve the right, at our own expense and on notice to you, to assume exclusive defence and control of any claim or action.

Privacy Policy

For information about our privacy policies and practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Partial Invalidity

The illegality, invalidity or unenforceability of any provisions of these Terms of Use under the law of any jurisdiction shall not affect its legality, validity or enforceability under the laws of any other jurisdiction nor the legality, validity or enforceability of any other provision.

Miscellaneous

No waiver of any breach under these Terms of Use will amount to a waiver of any other breach. The headings in these Terms of Use are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use shall be governed by the law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Court.

Web Accessibility Non-conformance Statement

We are committed to ensuring that our website conforms to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA requirements to the maximum extent possible. However, some materials may not have all Level AA accessibility requirements incorporated due to technical constraints. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please contact us if you need assistance.

How You Can Customise Your Browser Settings

You can also consider adjusting your browser settings for the best view. The following is the link to tips for adjusting the setting on a popular web browser, Firefox, by

• Changing default font size of webpages
• Changing the colours, font styles or font sizes to your choice
• Suppressing the animations or videos on webpages
• Suppressing pictures on webpages

More practical tips for Firefox configuration

Last review date: 7 September 2022