A spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (February 15) reminded elderly persons that the special one-off arrangement for the first year of the Fujian (FJ) Scheme will expire on March 31, 2019. Eligible elderly persons who wish to apply for the FJ Scheme under the special one-off arrangement are advised to submit their applications as early as possible.
      
     The spokesman pointed out that the FJ Scheme was launched on April 1, 2018. In its first year of implementation (i.e. April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019), a special one-off arrangement was put in place to allow elderly persons who do not meet the requirement of residing in Hong Kong continuously for one year immediately before the date of application (the one-year of continuous residence in Hong Kong requirement), but have already resided in FJ and satisfied all other eligibility criteria, to benefit from the Scheme without the need to return and stay in Hong Kong. These applicants must have resided in FJ for at least one year immediately before the date of application, and they have to provide their residential address in FJ and relevant documentary proof (such as rental receipts, electricity bills, etc) for application.
      
     Upon the expiry of the special one-off arrangement on March 31, applicants must satisfy all eligibility requirements, including the one-year continuous residence in Hong Kong requirement, in order to be eligible for the allowance.
      
     The spokesman said that the FJ Scheme provides the Old Age Allowance for eligible Hong Kong elderly persons aged 65 or above who choose to reside in FJ. Currently, the rate of allowance is HK$1,385 per month.
      
     Elderly persons who wish to apply for the FJ Scheme can obtain the application form and guidance notes from the SWD's FJ Scheme website (www.swd.gov.hk/fjs) or from the Social Security Field Unit (Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme) (SSFU) by phone (3105 3266) or by post (address: Unit 2110-2111, 21/F, Landmark North, 39 Lung Sum Avenue, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong). Applicants are required to return the completed application form, together with copies of relevant supporting documents and two recent photos, to the SSFU by post for application.
      
     The spokesman added, "Elderly persons who wish to make applications before the expiry of the special one-off arrangement can call the enquiry line at 3105 3266 for details of the application procedures. For those who wish to submit their applications by post, they should be mindful of the delivery time to ensure that their mail can be sent to the SWD with a postmark date on or before March 31."

     For eligibility criteria and frequently asked questions on the current FJ Scheme, please visit the SWD's FJ Scheme website (www.swd.gov.hk/fjs) or call 3105 3266 during the office hours (Monday to Friday at 8.45am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm).

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, at a media session after attending the Legislative Council Panel on Transport meeting today (February 15):

Reporter: Was there any negligence on the part of the Highways Department over its monitoring role? And also was there any cover-up at all as it hasn't come to light until there's a media report?

Secretary for Transport and Housing: I would say that it's far too early to speculate whether (there is) any kind of wrong-doing like this. Of course, there is natural expectation of such. I think we need to take into account the fact, record, as well as subsequent investigation. If there is anything that's gone wrong, we would tackle it. 

Reporter: Is there any negligence on the part of the Highways Department over its monitoring?

Secretary for Transport and Housing: As Director Chan (Director of Highways, Mr Jimmy Chan) has just mentioned, if the staff or the team who's looking after this particular project could have been more sensitive to the report from their engineering consultant, the situation could have been better.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (February 15) that the following leisure and sports facilities will be temporarily closed:

(a) The Spiral Lookout Tower in Tai Po Waterfront Park will be temporarily closed from February 18 to April 17 for maintenance works.

(b) The squash courts and table tennis rooms at Tai Po Sports Ground Squash and Tennis Centre will be temporarily closed from February 19 to August 25 for refurbishment works. During the closure period, the public may use similar facilities at Tai Po Sports Centre, Tai Wo Sports Centre, Fu Heng Sports Centre, Fu Shin Sports Centre or Tai Po Hui Sports Centre in the same district.

     For the most up-to-date closure schedules of the above leisure and sports facilities, the public may refer to the notices at the venues or contact venue staff directly.
 

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, February 15, 2019 is 103.9 (up 0.1 against yesterday's index).

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (February 15) released the latest grading of water quality for four gazetted beaches which are open all year round for swimming.

     Four beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1).

Grade 1 beaches are:
 

     Compared with the grading released last week, there was no change in the grading for these beaches.

     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.

     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, an EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a storm or heavy rainfall.

     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.