Hongkong Post announced today (October 26) that a stamp sheetlet and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Congratulations on the Outstanding Achievements of the Hong Kong, China Delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games" will be put on sale at all post offices on Thursday (October 28). It will also be available for sale at the Hongkong Post's online shopping mall ShopThruPost (shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) from 8am on the same day.
      
     Hongkong Post also took the opportunity to interview the medallists, and members of the public are welcome to watch the videos on the Hongkong Post YouTube channel and the "郵票．郵趣@Hongkong Post Stamps" Facebook and Instagram pages to share their joy.
      
     Hongkong Post also invites stamp lovers to keep an eye out for another new stamp sheetlet, on the theme of "Congratulations on the Outstanding Achievements of the Hong Kong, China Delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games", to be issued on December 9. Advance ordering is now available until November 4.
      
     Information about the special stamps and associated philatelic products is available on the Hongkong Post Stamps website or the "ShopThruPost" mobile app.

      

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO), sponsored an immersive theatrical live performance,HOME X, involving British and Hong Kong artists at the SPARK, an online festival hosted by the British Council from October 20 to 23 (Hong Kong Time). 

     Produced by Chinese Arts Now (CAN), an organisation funded by Arts Council England, HOME X offers an interactive theatrical experience combining gaming technology, virtual reality, live music and dance. Audiences enter a virtual world as an avatar that changes and grows as it interacts with this strangely familiar but altered place full of trees, flowers and birdsong. HOME X is a product of collaboration between artists in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom (UK). 

     Prior to the performance on October 23, the producers and artists of HOME X organised an online panel session on October 21 to explain the creative process and inspiration for the programme. 

     The Director-General of the London ETO, Mr Gilford Law said, "It is our great pleasure to support CAN's new digital and cultural collaboration between artists from Hong Kong and the UK as well as to bring this new form of performing arts to Hong Kong. HOME X is the perfect example of what SPARK Festival is about, i.e. creating connections across cultures."

     He continued, "As announced by the Chief Executive in her recent Policy Address, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to developing Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange in line with the National 14th Five-year Plan. The London ETO will spare no effort to promote the cultural development of Hong Kong through collaboration and cultural exchanges with overseas practitioners."

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The President of the Legislative Council (LegCo), Mr Andrew Leung, hosted the End-of-term Dinner for the Sixth LegCo tonight (October 25) in the Dining Hall of the LegCo Complex. Over 100 guests including the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, Executive Council Members, senior Government officials and LegCo Members attended the End-of-term Dinner.

     In his opening remarks, Mr Leung said the Sixth LegCo has encountered many unprecedented challenges. He said, despite the difficulties, Members have stayed true to the original aspiration of serving the public when deliberating on and approving the legislative and funding proposals relating to people's livelihood. He added that the good policies can be implemented in full as long as both the Government officials and Members listen and accept views. Mr Leung said, "I sincerely hope that the Executive Authorities and the LegCo will work together to promote good governance. With checks and balances and mutual operation of the two branches, Hong Kong will scale new heights with sustained stability and prosperity." 

     He also expressed gratitude to the LegCo Secretariat for their continued support to the works of Members and the Council in an impartial and professional manner.

      

     â€‹The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been implemented for 242 days since February 26, 2021.
 
     So far, about 8 989 800 doses of vaccines have been administered under the Vaccination Programme. Details are as follows:
 

* The numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
 
     In the 24 hours ending at 8pm today (October 25), about 10 900 persons have received vaccination. Details are as follows:
 

* The numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
 
     In the 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were no cases of ambulance transfer to hospital from CVCs or designated general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr John Lee, chaired the ninth meeting of the Youth Development Commission (YDC) today (October 25).

     Members welcomed the new youth development initiatives and the direction of re-organising the Government structure to foster and support youth development in the "Chief Executive's 2021 Policy Address". The YDC will actively follow up on the Chief Executive’s invitation to explore the introduction of a new funding scheme to subsidise eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to organise projects that are conducive to nurturing young people's positive thinking, particularly those projects which involve cross-sectoral efforts or are youth-led and could drive community building. Besides, subject to the outcome of the pilot scheme launched in July 2021, the YDC will roll out a brand-new thematic funding scheme on outdoor adventure training activities for more NGOs to provide systematic and quality outdoor adventure training activities for young people. Members were also briefed on the latest progress of the Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, as well as the details of relevant Policy Address initiatives on education and nurturing innovation and technology talents.
      
     Mr Lee said, "The Policy Address sets out a number of youth-related new initiatives to respond to young people's needs in education, career pursuit and home ownership, as well as participation in politics and public policy discussion and debate. Looking ahead, the YDC will proactively drive forward youth work in two broad directions: firstly, we hope to promote young people's positive thinking and put more emphasis on their diversified development through different initiatives. Secondly, we will deepen various schemes for youth exchange, internship, entrepreneurship and employment, and more, to facilitate young people to better grasp the opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-Year Plan and development of the Greater Bay Area."
                  
     Members were also briefed on the youth development work of the Security Bureau together with its six disciplined services and two auxiliary services departments. Apart from working with other departments or organisations to promote youth development, the disciplined and auxiliary services departments also organise youth programmes relating to their areas of work. Most of them have set up their own youth uniformed groups, with a view to nurturing young people's positive thinking, law-abiding awareness, discipline, team spirit and aspirations to serve the community, as well as helping young people understand the country and enhance their sense of national identity through a series of lectures and different forms of training and activities. The YDC praised the youth work of the disciplined and auxiliary services, and agreed to strengthen its co-operation with them, including letting the disciplined and auxiliary services make good use of the YDC's platform to reach and benefit more young people.
      
     Members noted the progress of various youth development projects under the YDC. Of note, the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) has partnered with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport) to launch the new Youth Start-up Internship Programme (YSIP) on a pilot basis, with a view to providing young people with internship opportunities at Cyberport's affiliated start-ups. Apart from internship placements, Cyberport will arrange a series of training and entrepreneurship activities for the interns. More than 440 internship placements have been offered by 170 Cyberport's affiliated start-ups, including 30 placements to be offered during the initial phase across various disciplines, such as data analysis, programming, corporate governance, marketing, design and digital marketing. Since its launch in late September, the YSIP has received more than 500 applications from young people, reflecting their keen demand for internship opportunities at start-ups. The HAB will liaise with Cyberport to expedite the rolling out of more internship placements. Interested young people may visit the YDC's website (www.ydc.gov.hk/en/programmes/ip/ip_ysip.html).