To further promote improving the district governance system and reforming the District Councils (DCs), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will hold the "Improving district governance  Building a better community" seminar at 3pm today (October 31) at the Central Government Offices. Representatives from various sectors of the community, leaders of political groups with affection for the country and Hong Kong, and authoritative experts and scholars are invited to attend.
 
     The seminar will be chaired by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee. The Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Mr Zheng Yanxiong; the Vice-chairperson of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), Professor Wong Yuk-shan; the former Vice-chairperson of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the NPC, Ms Maria Tam; the Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Coalition, Mr Tam Yiu-chung; the Consultant of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, Professor Lau Siu-kai; and the deputy head of the Hong Kong deputies to the NPC, Dr Stanley Ng, will give keynote speeches. The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, will host a question-and-answer session after the keynote speeches.
 
     The seminar will be broadcast live from 3pm to 5pm. Members of the public can view it on the website of the Information Services Department (webcast.info.gov.hk), the news.gov.hk's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/govnews.hk) or the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cmab.gov.hk). Radio Television Hong Kong TV 32 will also broadcast the seminar.
 
     A Government spokesman said, "Improving the district governance system and reforming the DCs are related to the good governance of the HKSAR, good community life, and a better living and working environment for all citizens. Members of the public are encouraged to watch the broadcast to better understand improving the district governance system."

     â€‹The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled "Occupational Health of Office Workers Series (II) Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders for Office Workers" on November 8 (Wednesday) at 7.15pm to raise office workers' awareness of musculoskeletal disorders of back and upper limbs arising from prolonged repetitive movements or improper sitting postures. The talk will cover the causes of and preventive measures for musculoskeletal disorders among office workers. The talk will be given by the LD's occupational hygienist and occupational health nurse.
 
     The LD will hold another talk entitled "First Aid in the Workplace" on November 13 (Monday) at 3.30pm. The talk will cover basic knowledge of first aid and explain how to assist and handle employees injured from workplace accidents through case illustrations. The talk will be given by the LD's occupational health nurse.
 
     Both talks will be given in Cantonese at the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay. Admission is free but pre-registration is required. Interested participants can register online (www.oshsreg.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 2852 4040.

     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, will depart for Xiamen tomorrow (November 1) morning. He will meet with senior officials of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. He will also attend the opening ceremony of the China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and relevant programmes. Mr Yeung will then visit Dongguan and meet with senior officials of the municipal government.
 
     After that, Mr Yeung will go to Shenzhen and attend the opening ceremony of the 24th Shenzhen Reading Month on November 4 morning. He will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, will be the Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism.

     The Fire Services Department (FSD) announced today (October 31) that the Fire Service (Installations and Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2023 (the Amendment Regulation) will come into effect tomorrow (November 1), with a view to facilitating the voluntary use of portable firefighting equipment, such as fire extinguishers and fire blankets, in domestic premises of the public's own volition. The public could tackle the fire early in case of a fire at home, thereby enhancing home fire safety in a holistic manner. 

     The Amendment Regulation aims to exclude approved portable firefighting equipment that is installed in domestic premises of one's own volition (i.e. not required by or pursuant to law) from the application of regulation 8(1) of Fire Service (Installations and Equipment) Regulations, to the effect that the owners of such portable firefighting equipment will be exempted from the statutory duty of keeping such equipment in efficient working order at all times and having the equipment inspected by registered fire service installation contractors at least once every 12 months.

     Nevertheless, owners of any portable firefighting equipment that are required by law to be installed in any premises, portable firefighting equipment in common areas of domestic buildings (e.g. common corridors, lobbies and staircases, etc) installed of one's own volition, and portable firefighting equipment installed of one's own volition in any premises which are not intended to be used for residential purposes (such as industrial buildings, etc) should continue to be subject to the relevant statutory duty. 

     To facilitate the public to identify portable firefighting equipment approved by the FSD, the department has added a new function, Portable Easy Scan, to its mobile application since October 27. It allows the public to scan the information on the label of the equipment with their mobile phones. The application performs a search of the list of approved portable firefighting equipment to help the public to identify whether the equipment is an approved model or not. 

     In order to promote the widespread use of portable firefighting equipment in domestic premises, the FSD has set up a dedicated homepage at its website (www.hkfsd.gov.hk/eng/fire_protection/pedp/). The website lists out the details of the Amendment Regulation and the guideline on the appropriate selection and self-checking of portable firefighting equipment. The FSD will also promulgate the benefits and the use of portable firefighting equipment to the public through various channels. 

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (October 31) the following arrangements for lifesaving services at its 39 gazetted beaches during the period between November 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024:

Deep Water Bay Beach, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Silverstrand Beach and Golden Beach
——————————————————————————————————–
November 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
Lifesaving services available from 8am to 5pm daily

St. Stephen's Beach
———————–
November 1 to 30, 2023
Lifesaving services available from 8am to 5pm daily
(Lifesaving services suspended from December 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024)

Repulse Bay Beach, Middle Bay Beach, Big Wave Bay Beach and Silver Mine Bay Beach
————————————————————————————————
November 1 to 30, 2023, and March 1 to 31, 2024
Lifesaving services available from 8am to 5pm daily
(Lifesaving services suspended from December 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024)

Stanley Main Beach
———————-
March 1 to 31, 2024
Lifesaving services available from 8am to 5pm daily
(Lifesaving services suspended from November 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024)

     Lifesaving services at the remaining 29 LCSD beaches will be suspended from November 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, during winter. A detailed list can be found in the attachment.

     The LCSD calls on members of the public to observe water safety while swimming. People should swim at the beaches only when lifesaving services are available. Please do not enter the water when the red flag is hoisted.