Tag Archives: China

     â€‹The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) held the Launching Ceremony of the Olympics Focal Site at the Secondary Hall of the Kowloon Park Sports Centre today (July 26). The Olympics Focal Site located at designated sports centres in 18 districts will open tomorrow (July 27) for members of the public to watch the competitions and show their support for the national team and Hong Kong athletes as they strive for excellence at the Olympic Games.
      
     Speaking at the ceremony, the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, said that the 2024 Paris Olympics Games (POG) will commence today (Paris time). The Hong Kong Delegation has sent 35 athletes who have obtained qualifications for 13 sports. Mr Lau said like other Hong Kong people, he is looking forward to seeing Hong Kong athletes showcase their talents in the competitions. He added that similar to the broadcasting arrangements of the Tokyo Olympics, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has procured the broadcasting rights of the 2024 POG and Paralympic Games (PPG) in Hong Kong and granted the rights to Radio Television Hong Kong and three local licensed television broadcasters to broadcast the Games without charges, allowing members of the public to watch the Games for free and support the athletes. The four broadcasters will provide an aggregate of at least 1 000 hours of coverage on Olympic Games events, broadcast all Olympic Games events competed by Hong Kong athletes, produce programmes for promoting the POG and PPG, as well as produce and broadcast programmes for promoting the development of sports in Hong Kong within 12 months after the end of the POG and PPG.

     Athletes attending the ceremony included Hong Kong table tennis athlete Minnie Soo, former member of the Hong Kong Men’s Seven Salom Yiu, former members of the Hong Kong Cycling Team Leung Ka-yu and Domino Chau, and former member of the Hong Kong Fencing Team Lo Shan-shan. They participated in sports demonstrations as well as shared their experiences of the training during the ceremony. Participation activities were also held after the ceremony to enhance the understanding of the Olympic sports. The video of the ceremony will be available on the dedicated website www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ofs/ for public viewing.
      
     The 2024 POG will be held from July 26 to August 11 (Paris time). Due to time difference between Paris and Hong Kong, the 18 Olympics Focal Sites will be open from tomorrow (Hong Kong time) until the closing of the Games. The opening hours will be from 8am to 11pm in general. To enable the public to visit the Focal Sites and watch the Games, information of the actual opening times of the Focal Sites will be announced on the dedicated website (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ofs/location.html). Interested parties are welcome to check for the updated schedule. Details of the broadcasting arrangements for the 2024 PPG will be announced on the dedicated website later.
      
     Exhibition panels featuring Hong Kong athletes participating in the Games will also be displayed at the Olympics Focal Site. Members of the public are invited to visit the exhibition.
      
     To continue encouraging the public to participate in sports while enjoying the Games, a series of Olympic Games sports videos, which feature introduction and demonstration of sports skills by elite athletes, have been uploaded to the dedicated website to allow members of the public to experience the joyful atmosphere while watching the Games.

        

     The Government announced today (July 26) the further extension of the appointment of Mr Clement Chan Kam-wing as the Inspector to investigate the affairs of Next Digital Limited (NDL) by six months up to January 27, 2025.
 
     The Financial Secretary, pursuant to the power conferred on him by sections 841(2) and (3) of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), had appointed Mr Chan as the Inspector to investigate the affairs of NDL. As the Inspector has indicated to the Financial Secretary that the above investigation was still ongoing, the Financial Secretary has decided to further extend the Inspector’s appointment by six months. read more

     The services provided by Mobile Library 5 have been suspended until further notice for urgent repair works, a Leisure and Cultural Services Department spokesman announced today (July 26).        The affected se… read more

     Hong Kong Customs mounted a territory-wide enforcement operation codenamed “Magpie” between July 2 and 25 to combat illegal activities involving party room and restaurant operators providing infringing karaoke songs to customers in the course of business. 

     During the operation, Customs officers raided 31 party rooms and one restaurant in various districts, including Kwun Tong, Causeway Bay, Tsuen Wan and Mong Kok. A total of 39 sets of karaoke devices used for playing suspected infringing songs, four sets of game consoles with suspected pirated electronic games, and a batch of audio and video equipment and network devices were seized. The total estimated market value is approximately $1.1 million. Eleven men and seven women, aged between 23 and 49, were arrested for being suspected of contravening the Copyright Ordinance and Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). They include seven persons-in-charge of the venues, six company directors and five shop proprietors. Two of the arrestees were charged under the Copyright Ordinance, while the rest were released on bail pending further investigation. The investigation is ongoing and further arrest may be made.

     In addition, Customs detected the first-ever case of providing infringing karaoke songs by using streaming technology. Through in-depth investigation and with the assistance of copyright owners, Customs officers raided one data centre and four party rooms involved in the case, seizing five karaoke devices preloaded with suspected infringing karaoke songs and a batch of network equipment. 

     Customs also found a party room owner who claimed to have obtained a valid licence that allowed customers to legally watch movies and television programmes. However, upon investigation, it was revealed that the subject party room did not obtain such a licence and was suspected of making a false trade description in the course of business, contravening the TDO. 

     Customs reminds business operators to comply with the Copyright Ordinance and the TDO.

     Customs will continue to step up inspection and enforcement to vigorously combat infringing activities on all fronts and safeguard the rights of copyright owners and consumers.

     Under the Copyright Ordinance, any person who, without the license of the copyright owner of a copyright work, possesses infringing copies of a copyright work for the purpose of, or in the course of, any trade or business with the view to it being used by any person commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years.

     Under the TDO, any trader who engages in unfair trade practices, including making false trade descriptions in relation to service, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).