The Immigration Department (ImmD) estimates that around 7.32 million passengers (including Hong Kong residents and visitors) will pass through Hong Kong's sea, land and air control points during the upcoming Lunar New Year festive period (from February 4 to 10). Among them, about 75 per cent, or around 5.47 million passengers, will pass through land boundary control points. The number of outbound passengers will be at its highest on February 6 (Wednesday) with over 454 000 passengers departing Hong Kong, while the number of inbound passengers using land boundary control points will reach its peak on February 7 (Thursday), with around 506 000 passengers arriving in Hong Kong.
 
     Lo Wu will be the busiest control point, and it is estimated that there will be around 1.69 million passengers, with a daily average of about 242 000 passengers, travelling via this control point during the festive period. The passenger traffic at the Shenzhen Bay and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control points will also be heavy, with daily average forecasts of about 141 000 and 132 000 passengers respectively.
 
     To cope with the anticipated heavy traffic during the festive period, the ImmD has redeployed additional staff to reinforce various control points and has minimised leave for frontline officers for flexible deployment and operation of extra clearance counters and kiosks. Additional security guards will also be deployed to provide crowd management support.
 
     Furthermore, the ImmD, the Police, the Customs and Excise Department and the MTR Corporation Limited will set up a joint command centre at Lo Wu Control Point to make necessary arrangements. The ImmD will also establish close communication with the Mainland frontier inspection authorities. To ensure smooth passenger traffic flow, passenger conditions will be closely monitored and appropriate traffic diversion plans will be adopted when necessary.
 
     To avoid congestion and a longer than usual waiting time for immigration clearance, the ImmD advises all land boundary passengers to plan in advance and avoid making their journeys during busy periods, and to keep track of radio and TV broadcasts on traffic conditions at the various control points. The expected busy times at boundary control points are available on the website of the ImmD at www.immd.gov.hk. Furthermore, passengers may also check the estimated waiting times of all land boundary control points at any time or place via the Immigration Mobile Application (ImmD Mobile App). They can then plan their trips effectively and save time queuing up at control points. The ImmD Mobile App can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store (supports iOS version 9.0 or above) and Google Play (supports Android version 5.0 or above). The links for downloading can also be found on the ImmD website, www.immd.gov.hk. In addition, information on public transport services to and from various control points is available on the Transport Department website at www.td.gov.hk.
 
     The ImmD will upload daily passenger statistics for the above festive period to its website at www.immd.gov.hk for public reference.
 
     For travellers making journeys to the Mainland, the ImmD reminds them to carry their proof of identity and valid travel documents for crossing the boundary. Hong Kong residents should also check the validity of their Home Visit Permits. Non-permanent residents must carry their valid smart identity card as well as their Document of Identity for Visa Purposes or valid travel document.
 
     Holders of the acknowledgement receipt issued due to reported loss or replacement of their Hong Kong identity cards, or children under 11 years old who hold Hong Kong identity cards, should carry a valid travel document or Re-entry Permit.
 
     About 700 e-Channels have been installed at various control points. Hong Kong residents enrolled for the Express e-Channel should re-enrol if they have been issued with a new identity card. Furthermore, re-enrolment is required for enrolled Mainland visitors holding a booklet-type Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao who have changed their enrolment information, e.g. having renewed their exit endorsement. Eligible Mainland holders of the electronic Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao (e-EEP) can enrol for the e-Channel service by using their e-EEP and undergoing the enrolment process at a traditional entry counter on their first visit to Hong Kong. Eligible Mainland visitors who have renewed their e-EEP have to go through the aforesaid enrolment process again before they can use the e-Channel.
   
     In addition, all control points have introduced self-service departure for visitors to Hong Kong (Smart Departure) which provides greater travel convenience for visitors. The service employs facial recognition technology for identity verification, which allows eligible visitors holding electronic travel documents to perform self-service departure clearance through Smart Departure e-Channels without prior enrolment.
 
     Hong Kong residents who require assistance while travelling outside Hong Kong may call the 24-hour hotline of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the ImmD at (852) 1868.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department today (January 28) announced that Hong Kong public libraries, including the Hong Kong Central Library and the mobile libraries, will be closed at 5pm on Lunar New Year's Eve (February 4), except for those libraries closed on Mondays and the Provisional North Lamma Public Library Service Stop which will close at 4.30pm.

      All public and mobile libraries and students' study rooms will be closed from February 5 to 7.

      Moreover, due to the periodic inspection and testing for electrical installations, the following services will be suspended from 5.30pm on February 4 to 7:
 
– library mobile app services as well as Internet and telephone renewal services;
– other online library services, including the library catalogue, borrowers' record enquiries, reservation of library materials and Internet and Digital Service Workstations, the Multimedia Information System and electronic resources (e-Books and e-Databases); and
– the self-service library stations (readers may return books to the stations before the due date, and the loan records will be updated on the next working day).
 
     Details can be obtained from notices posted at all public libraries and the website at www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/library-notices/library-notices-list.html. For enquiries, please call 2921 0208.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited the Marycove Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (SGS) and two underprivileged elderly families this morning (January 28).
      
     Established in 1968, the Marycove Center is a residential home subvented by the Social Welfare Department. With a residential quota of 90, it caters for girls aged from 12 to 18 in need. The Marycove School was set up under the Center in the same year and is subvented by the Education Bureau. It was classified as a school for social development in July 1997.
      
     Accompanied by the District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands), Mr Lam Ding-fung, Mr Cheung first visited the Marycove Center in Wong Chuk Hang. He was given a briefing on the services provided by the Center by SGS's Director, Sister Bernadette Yuen; Center's Superintendent, Ms Eliza Poon; and the Marycove School's Principal, Mr Joseph Choy.
      
     He then toured the school and the Center's residential facilities. After being shown around by residents, he joined them for a tea session and music performance. Mr Cheung praised the girls for their outstanding performance. He also spoke highly of the professional services offered by staff of the Center and encouraged them to continue supporting the girls, preparing them for integration into society and enabling them to unleash their potential in full.
      
     Mr Cheung then proceeded to visit two elderly families at Yue Kwong Chuen in Aberdeen to find out more about their daily living and brought them warm clothing and health products as gifts. He wished them happiness and good health in the year ahead. 
      
     He said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to improving people's livelihood and actively promoting the policy of according priority to the provision of home care and community care, supplemented by residential care, so that the elderly can enjoy their life in environments familiar to them.

     The Transport Department (TD) today (January 28) announced that the next auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be held on February 23 (Saturday), at Meeting Room S421, L4, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.

     "A total of 247 approved PVRMs will be put up for public auction. A list of the marks was posted on the department's website, www.td.gov.hk, today," a department spokesman said.

     The reserve price of all these marks is $5,000. Applicants who have paid a deposit of $5,000 should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price). Otherwise, the PVRM concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.

     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:
     
(i) Paddle bidding will be used at this auction;

(ii) The display of a PVRM on a motor vehicle should be in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 4 of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations;

(iii) Any change to the arrangement of letters, numerals and blank spaces of a PVRM, i.e. single and two rows as auctioned, will not be allowed;

(iv) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through the Easy Pay System (EPS), or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM immediately after the bidding for the PVRM concerned. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted. For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed; and

(v) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the PVRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the PVRM within 12 months, allocation of the PVRM will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     "Upon completion of the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM, the purchaser will be issued a receipt and a Certificate of Allocation of Personalised Registration Mark. The Certificate of Allocation will serve to prove the holdership of the PVRM. Potential buyers of vehicles bearing a PVRM should check the Certificate of Allocation with the sellers and pay attention to the details therein. For transfer of vehicle ownership, this certificate together with other required documents should be sent to the TD for processing," the spokesman said.

     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of PVRM, which is available at the department's licensing offices or can be downloaded from its website, www.td.gov.hk.

     The "Hong Kong Guide" 2019 edition produced by the Lands Department (LandsD) went on sale today (January 28). The new
"e-HongKongGuide", an electronic map book, is also now available online.
      
     The new 432-page "Hong Kong Guide" provides detailed maps of Hong Kong with indexes for streets, places and villages, estates and buildings, schools, public services, and leisure and cultural facilities, as well as information on public transportation. The streets and places and villages indexes also serve as gazetteers for names of streets and geographical places in Hong Kong.
      
     Under the theme "Guide of Hearts", the "Hong Kong Guide" 2019 aims at promoting enhanced care for youths and social inclusion. It contains stories from the BiciLine Cycling Eco-Tourism Social Enterprise of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and WEDO GLOBAL, two social enterprises devoted to organising local guided tours, and which have also designed various tour routes through the territory's streets and alleys.   
      
     A spokesman for the LandsD said, "The 'Hong Kong Guide' not only enables its readers to explore the beautiful landscape and ecological environment of the city, it also allows them to learn more about the daily lives and cultural traits of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.
      
     "We hope this year's theme will inspire readers to discover the unique features and fascinating aspects of our streets and places, as well as interesting stories about Hong Kong," the spokesman added.
      
     The "e-HongKongGuide" 2019 edition, an electronic version of the "Hong Kong Guide", is also available online for browsing and free download at the LandsD's website (www.landsd.gov.hk/mapping/en/download/ehkg.htm).
      
     The "e-HongKongGuide" is a collection of maps in GeoPDF format. It can also be read by different applications on desktop computers and mobile devices in an offline mode. By using free tools available on the web, users can read co-ordinates, track positions using a GPS device, search co-ordinates, search text and information, add personalised images and information, and share with friends.
      
     The "Hong Kong Guide" 2019 edition, priced at $83, is available at all sales outlets of the LandsD's Survey and Mapping Office (SMO), six post offices (the General Post Office, Kowloon Central Post Office, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Mong Kok Post Office, Kwun Tong Post Office and Tuen Mun Central Post Office), designated local bookstores and the SMO's online map shop (www.hkmapservice.gov.hk). Information on the SMO's sales outlets is available at www.landsd.gov.hk/mapping/en/pro&ser/outlet.htm. For enquiries, please call 2231 3187.