The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) has once again sponsored the 17th edition of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) in Switzerland. The ZFF, which is running from September 23 to October 3 (Zurich time), is showing a selection of four Hong Kong film productions in the dedicated "Window: Hong Kong" section.
      
     As Switzerland's largest autumn festival, the ZFF features this year's greatest discoveries and most anticipated films. In total, 164 films from 53 countries and regions, ranging from Hollywood to Hong Kong, are staged. They include the drama "Drifting"; the tragicomedy "Time"; "Raging Fire" – the very last film that Hong Kong icon Benny Chan directed before he sadly passed away, and "Septet: The Story of Hong Kong". The latter is composed of seven stories, each directed by the legendary filmmakers Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. "Each of them presents a story that connects them to their hometown Hong Kong. This might be one of the best ways to take a cinematic trip through the city", the Deputy Director of HKETO Berlin, Ms Bonnie Ka, said in her opening speech at the "Window: Hong Kong" section on September 23 (Zurich time).
 
     Being globally oriented just like Switzerland, Hong Kong as an international centre for business, trade and travel was impacted by the pandemic in many ways. However, the arts and creative sectors, including the film industry, did not stand still during that time, said Ms Ka.
 
     "We are further developing hardware and software to reinforce our status as an international cultural hub. The M+ Museum will open its gates in November this year, and will be one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the whole world", Ms Ka said. The M+ Museum will become the home of the Sigg Collection, a comprehensive and world-renowned collection of contemporary Chinese art, donated by art collector and former Swiss Ambassador to China, Mr Uli Sigg.
 
     The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) continues to support the creative industries. In the 2021-22 Budget, an additional injection of HK$1 billion (around 120 million Swiss francs) will be invested in the CreateSmart Initiative to drive the development of the creative industries. Furthermore, an additional allocation of HK$900 million (around 108 million Swiss francs) is earmarked for the Art Development Matching Grants Scheme to further promote culture and arts from all sectors.
 
     Hong Kong as a hub for cultural events is also gaining momentum after the slowdown caused by the pandemic. The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival was held in April this year in a hybrid format, showing over 190 films from 58 countries and regions. Later in May, Art Basel debuted in Hong Kong with its first hybrid show since the pandemic. The event was a big success with strong sales across all levels of the market and positive responses from the participants.
 
     "I am very happy that the creative sectors in Hong Kong and beyond are revitalising and I hope we can contribute to that by taking the Swiss audience on a cinematic journey through Hong Kong in Zurich tonight", Ms Ka concluded.
 
About HKETO Berlin
 
     HKETO Berlin is the official HKSAR Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Switzerland as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

  

     An employment agent of foreign domestic helpers (the employment agent) was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment today (September 24) at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts. Twenty-three foreign domestic helpers involved in the case had been convicted earlier for the offence of making false representation to an immigration officer, and were sentenced to up to eight months' imprisonment.

     The employment agent is a 56-year-old Hong Kong permanent resident. Since April 2018, the Immigration Department (ImmD) has processed several foreign domestic helper (FDH) visa applications through the same employment agent. After in-depth and thorough comparisons, the ImmD detected several suspicious employers' residential and financial proofs and triggered the investigation of the employment agent. In July 2018, ImmD investigators mounted a series of operations. Twenty-four persons, comprising the employment agent and 23 foreigners who had applied for FDH visas using false contracts, were apprehended. During the enforcement action, two computers and four mobile phones were seized, and respective false employers' proofs were discovered after conducting forensic examinations.

     An investigation of the other suspects is continuing.
         
     "It is an offence to make false representation to an immigration officer. Offenders are liable to prosecution and to a maximum fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years. In addition, anyone who commits the offence of conspiracy to defraud is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 14 years. Furthermore, it is an offence to make, possess or use false instruments. Upon conviction, offenders are liable to a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment," an ImmD spokesman said.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (September 24) urged members of the public to enhance their vigilance against upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) as an increasing number of URTI outbreaks in schools have been recorded recently.

     The CHP has recently received increased reports of institutional URTI outbreaks. A total of 101 URTI outbreaks affecting 611 persons were reported in the past two weeks (September 10 to 23), compared to 10 URTI outbreaks affecting 52 persons recorded in the previous two weeks (August 27 to September 9). The majority of the outbreaks reported in the past two weeks occurred in kindergartens/child care centres (76 per cent), followed by primary schools (18 per cent), and there were six outbreaks involving special child care centres (6 per cent).

     A spokesman for the CHP said, "Young children, the elderly and patients with chronic diseases are prone to respiratory tract infection and its complications. As schools are collective assembly places, infectious diseases could easily spread among people through their daily contacts."

     In view of that, the CHP today issued letters to schools and doctors to appeal for heightened vigilance and appropriate actions. To prevent outbreaks of respiratory tract infection including COVID-19, it is of prime importance that children with fever, regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms, should not be allowed to attend school. They should wear a mask and consult doctors promptly. Schools should check the body temperature of all students every day when they arrive at school so as to identify students with fever. Moreover, staff should also check their temperature before work every day. Students and staff with fever or respiratory illnesses should not go to school and should seek medical attention immediately. Doctors are also urged to remain vigilant and arrange testing for respiratory infections for all patients presenting with acute respiratory symptoms.

     "Symptoms of URTI and other respiratory infections, including influenza and COVID-19, could be similar. It could be difficult to differentiate them clinically. Therefore, members of the public should get vaccinated as soon as possible as it is crucial in coping with the COVID-19 epidemic. Testing of COVID-19 at an earlier stage to facilitate earlier case detection also plays a vital role. The CHP has earlier adopted the most stringent precautionary measures under which a school will be required to suspend all classes or relevant levels immediately for five days if an outbreak of URTI or other respiratory infections in the school is established. The school concerned will also be included in a compulsory testing notice (CTN), under which staff and students of the school will be required to undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test in accordance with the CTN so as to identify the infected persons as early as possible and minimise the risk of transmission in schools and the community," the spokesman said.

     Meanwhile, the public should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene against influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses:
 

• Receive seasonal influenza vaccination for personal protection;
• Surgical masks can prevent transmission of respiratory viruses from ill persons. It is essential for persons who are symptomatic (even if having mild symptoms) to wear a surgical mask;
• Wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including performing hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask;
• Avoid touching one's eyes, mouth and nose;
• Wash hands with liquid soap and water properly whenever possibly contaminated;
• When hands are not visibly soiled, clean them with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub;
• Cover the nose and mouth with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of soiled tissue paper properly into a lidded rubbish bin, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards;
• Maintain good indoor ventilation;
• When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending classes at school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly; and
• Maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly, take adequate rest, do not smoke and avoid overstress.

     Members of the public, particularly children, the elderly and those with chronic diseases, should wear a face mask and consult a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of respiratory tract infection.

     â€‹Information on seasonal influenza vaccination and COVID-19 vaccination is available on the websites www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/100632.html and www.covidvaccine.gov.hk respectively.

The following is issued on behalf of the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence Steering Committee:
 
     The Acting Chief Executive, Mr Paul Chan, today (September 24) officiated at and presented the Award for Teaching Excellence to 15 teachers at the Award Presentation Ceremony of Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence (CEATE) (2019/2020) and (2020/2021).  Another 23 teachers received the Certificate of Merit from the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, during the ceremony.

     Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Chan expressed his heartfelt congratulations to the awarded teachers and thanked them for their dedicated efforts in education. Through their company and guidance, students cultivated a strong interest to pursue knowledge and reading as well as the spirit to explore, leading to the cultivation of good morals.

     "The awarded teachers regard moral cultivation as the foundation of education and are committed to enhancing students' ability to think and discern. They systematically planned the curriculum and organised a variety of colourful experiential learning activities to allow students to develop positive values, a commitment to society, as well as a sense of national identity, love for Hong Kong and international perspectives," he said.

     He also encouraged teachers to actively participate in exchange activities with the Mainland. Through observation and exchanges, they could explore ways to improve teaching professionalism with outstanding senior teachers in the Mainland. At the same time, they can use these opportunities to personally understand the country's development, strengthen their understanding of the country's politics, economy, society, history and culture, and then share their knowledge gained with colleagues and students.
      
     The Chairman of the CEATE Steering Committee, Dr Gordon Tsui, said, "I wish to extend my appreciation to the awarded teachers for dedicating themselves to their jobs amid the challenges of COVID-19 to nurture positive attitudes and values in students through teaching and modelling, while they still endeavoured to pursue continuous self-improvement and innovative teaching practices. They made strenuous efforts, through designing diversified learning activities and making use of multi-media across different online platforms, to promote the integration of knowledge in various learning areas, developing the skills and cultivating the values of students which successfully stimulated students' learning motivation and enhanced learning and teaching effectiveness with a view to building up a solid foundation for students' learning and growth."
      
     Dr Tsui said that more than 900 teachers from different themes have been awarded since the launch of CEATE in 2003. The CEATE Award has won community-wide recognition. He encouraged the awarded teachers to actively disseminate their excellent teaching practices through the CEATE Teachers' Association and various professional exchange platforms to inspire fellow teachers so as to build and reinforce the culture of pursuing excellence. Looking ahead, future CEATEs would bring together accomplished teachers with a view to making contributions to promote quality education.
      
     There were 121 nominations and 104 nominations received for CEATE (2019/2020) and (2020/2021) respectively. At the end of the assessment procedures, five nominations (comprising 15 teachers) were presented with the Award for Teaching Excellence while seven nominations (comprising 23 teachers) were presented with the Certificate of Merit in total. The awarded nominations covered themes including "Chinese Language Education Key Learning Area (KLA)", "Moral and Civic Education", "Arts Education KLA", "Mathematics Education KLA" and "Special Educational Needs". Assessment of nominations focused on teachers' performance in the four domains of "Professional Competence", "Student Development", "Professionalism and Commitment to the Community", and "School Development". Please visit CEATE website (www.ate.gov.hk) for the list of awarded teachers.
      
     The Award Presentation Ceremony was held at Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre. Officiating guests also included the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li; the Chairman of the Education Commission, Mr Tim Lui; the Chairman of the Curriculum Development Council, Professor Tam Kar-yan; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Mr Samuel Yung; and the Chairman of the CEATE Assessment Working Group (2019/2020) and (2020/2021), Professor Horace Ip.
      
     Sharing activities involving CEATE awarded teachers are being rolled out gradually this school year to disseminate excellent teaching practices. Details will be announced on the CEATE website and EDB Training Calendar. 
      
     Nominations for the CEATE (2021/2022) will be accepted on or before October 4. Its themes cover "Physical Education KLA", "Science Education KLA" and "Curriculum Leadership".

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:   
 
     Southbound Trading under Bond Connect is officially launched today (September 24).
      
     The scheme aims to provide a convenient, efficient and secure channel for Mainland institutional investors to invest in offshore bonds through the Hong Kong bond market.
      
     The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Mr Eddie Yue, said, "Today, we welcome the launch of Southbound Trading under Bond Connect, which provides another diversified and convenient channel for Mainland financial institutions to allocate to offshore bond assets through Hong Kong. While meeting the demand of the Mainland market, it will also give new momentum to the development of Hong Kong's bond market. Southbound Trading under Bond Connect further deepens mutual access between the Mainland and Hong Kong bond markets and enhances the linkage between financial infrastructure of the two places. Once again, it signifies that Hong Kong's financial markets serve as a secure and reliable channel and gateway for the Mainland's opening up."
      
     The scheme has been well received by the market. The operation was smooth on the first trading day, with more than 150 transactions amounting to a total of around RMB4 billion. 
      
     The HKMA will continue working with the People's Bank of China and other relevant institutions to promote Southbound Trading under Bond Connect and ensure the smooth and orderly operation of the scheme. The HKMA will also maintain close liaison with the industry, and review and enhance the operational arrangement of Southbound Trading under Bond Connect from time to time, according to actual operation and market development needs.