The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is deeply honoured to receive another generous donation from Mr Cheung Kee-wee, renowned collector and owner of the Huaihaitang Collection. The donation comprises 46 sets of precious artefacts, including Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, Ming textiles, and Ming lacquerware and cloisonné enamel, which are remarkable for their quality and rarity. The HKMoA will make good use of these precious cultural relics to promote the essence of Chinese culture, providing more people with the opportunity to understand and appreciate the treasures of Chinese art in depth.

     Since 2018, Mr Cheung has made 16 donations to the HKMoA, totalling more than 340 Chinese artefacts and paintings. He has generously shared these cultural treasures with the public, enriching the museum's collections and providing valuable materials for the study and promotion of Chinese art. The latest donated artefacts were displayed at the "Eternal Enlightenment: the Virtual World of the Jiajing Emperor" exhibition held at the HKMoA in 2022. Among them is the jar with clouds, dragons and shou characters design in underglaze blue, which is notably large in size and difficult to fire. Between a pair of dragons in motion, a "shou" character is depicted in cursive script, the continuous single stroke of which symbolises longevity and is a common motif during the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty. The jar exhibits a lush and dense blue tone that carries a tinge of purple, demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of porcelain from that era. These artefacts not only exemplify exquisite craftsmanship but also bear witness to the artistic characteristics and cultural landscape of the late Ming era, holding significant historical and artistic value.
      
     Mr Cheung is a renowned local art collector and Honorary University Fellow of the University of Hong Kong. He is also a Museum Expert Adviser for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. He is passionate about Chinese art, and his private Huaihaitang Collection is well-known for its imperial porcelains from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Mr Cheung serves as the longstanding Vice Chairman of the well-known collectors' organisation, the Min Chiu Society, and possesses vast experience in art appreciation and connoisseurship. Guided by his mantra that "appreciation and research are more important than possessing and collecting", he has long been committed to promoting art and culture and has generously donated items from his collection to public and university museums, including the HKMoA, for research and public appreciation.

     Established in 1962, the HKMoA is the first public art museum in the city, now the custodian of an art collection of over 19 700 items. The rich collections span historical eras from the Neolithic Age to contemporary times, representing the artistic legacy of Hong Kong and beyond. Over the years, the museum has received multiple precious collections from collectors and artists, reflecting that the mission of the HKMoA to inherit and protect art is well recognised by them. Donations received since its expansion and reopening in 2019 include a total of 363 artworks from the Chih Lo Lou Collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy, which was built up by the late Ho Iu-kwong, a philanthropist and passionate collector, and donated by the Chih Lo Lou Art Promotion (Non-profit Making) Limited; over 450 items of the late celebrated artist Wu Guanzhong's works and personal archives from Wu and his family over the years; a precious art collection with more than 1 000 works featuring 20th-century Chinese paintings and calligraphy donated by renowned collector and photographer and master of Jingguanlou, Dr Wong Kwai-kuen; and nearly 500 pieces of Chinese snuff bottles from the Fuyun Xuan Collection donated by the late local collector Christopher Sin's wife, Josephine Sin. Last year, the museum has received a generous donation of $100 million from Wu Keyu, the son of Wu Guanzhong, for the establishment of the Wu Guanzhong Art Sponsorship, to support the promotion of Wu and related Chinese modern art.

                

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 is 107 (up 0.3 against yesterday's index).

     In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on February 17 to noon today (February 18), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 126 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24, 2023, to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 116 354 samples of food imported from Japan (including 76 216 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 27 024 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.
 

     The opening ceremony of the National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong), organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy and the Ministry of Justice, was held today (February 18).

     The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, and representatives of the Bureau of Public Legal Services Administration of the Ministry of Justice, the China University of Political Science and Law, and the China Legal Service (H.K.) Limited attended the opening ceremony. Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Lam expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Justice for its support and trust in the Academy, and thanked the China University of Political Science and Law and the China Legal Service (H.K.) Limited for its strong support for the training course. He said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been sparing no effort in implementing a number of measures, including improving the legal framework related to arbitration, attracting internationally renowned arbitral institutions to establish a presence in Hong Kong, and hosting large-scale international conferences related to legal and dispute resolution services to promote Hong Kong's international legal and arbitration services. He expressed the hope that the course will facilitate exchanges that bridge the arbitration systems of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and deepen participants' understanding of arbitration and dispute resolution in Hong Kong so that they can put what they have learned into practice in future.

     The two-week training course commenced yesterday (February 17). The course, conducted in English, provides a comprehensive introduction of the system and practice of arbitration in Hong Kong to more than 80 participants comprising Mainland in-house counsel, experienced arbitrators, lawyers and arbitration practitioners through lectures, exchanges and visits. Speakers include experienced Hong Kong legal professionals and members of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Expert Committee.

     The training course will facilitate co-operation between the Hong Kong and Mainland in the field of dispute resolution. By studying arbitration practices in Hong Kong, Mainland legal professionals can gain a deeper understanding of Hong Kong's legal system, thereby strengthening understanding and co-operation between the two places in cross-boundary dispute resolution.

     Before the opening ceremony, Mr Lam signed a new legal exchange and co-operation arrangement with the China University of Political Science and Law to replace the arrangement signed by the two sides in 2016 and to deepen legal exchanges and co-operation between the two sides. Mr Lam said that since 2016, legal exchanges and co-operation between the two sides have been achieving good progress. The signing of the new co-operation arrangement will enhance the two sides' co-operation on nurturing foreign-related legal talents and promoting the rule of law, as well as exchanges on relevant legal issues such as international arbitration, mediation and the national development strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority :
 
     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s Subsidised Housing Committee endorsed today (February 18) the extension of the response period for all public rental housing (PRH) elderly residents joining the Portable Social Security Schemes (PSSS) (i.e. the Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme) who opt to retire on the Mainland from the current three months to six months for the surrender of PRH flats or deletion of their names from PRH tenancies.
 
     To cater for the needs of PRH elderly residents choosing to reside in Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHEs) (including both RCHEs in Hong Kong and the Mainland) or return to the Mainland for good, and to maximise the utilisation of housing resources, the HA has established an arrangement to issue a Letter of Assurance (LA) or Letter of Reinstatement (LR) to PRH elderly residents admitted to RCHEs or joining the PSSS upon the surrender of their PRH flats or deletion of their names from the PRH tenancies. Currently, PRH elderly residents admitted to RCHEs under the Residential Care Services Scheme are allowed to retain their PRH flats/tenancies for six months to facilitate them to sort out their family arrangements and adaptation to the new environment, while the response period for those joining the PSSS is three months. Upon implementation of the new arrangement, the response period for both will be aligned to six months.
 
     "The Government has been implementing various strategies and policies to address the issue of an ageing population. The HA is willing to support the Government's policy to actively facilitate the retirement of Hong Kong elderly persons on the Mainland and help those PRH elderly residents who opt to retire there," a spokesman for the HA said.
 
     "It is believed that the extension of the response period for the surrender of PRH flats or deletion of names from PRH tenancies could ease and address the PRH elderly residents' worries and concerns about the adaptation to living when they choose to retire on the Mainland. If they decide to retire on the Mainland and return the PRH flats, the HA may recover more PRH flats for allocation to those in housing need," the spokesman added.
 
     The enhanced measures will take effect in the first quarter of 2025. The HA will collaborate with the Social Welfare Department for the implementation arrangements.