Tag Archives: China

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will implement special opening hours at its performance venues and URBTIX outlets during the Lunar New Year holidays, an LCSD spokesman announced today (January 10). Details are as follows:
 
January 24 (Lunar New Year’s Eve)
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Performance venues and URBTIX outlets	Opening hours
URBTIX outlets at Youth Square, Tai Kwun and Parsons Music Yau Tong Branch	Open as usual
URBTIX outlet at Hong Kong Arts Centre	To close at 3pm
URBTIX outlets at Tom Lee (Tsim Sha Tsui Branch and Wan Chai Branch)	To close at 4.30pm
Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong City Hall, Ko Shan Theatre, Ko Shan Theatre New Wing, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre, Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre, Yau Ma Tei Theatre, Sha Tin Town Hall, Tai Po Civic Centre, North District Town Hall, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Kwai Tsing Theatre, Tuen Mun Town Hall and Yuen Long Theatre and their URBTIX outlets	To close at 5.30pm
Hong Kong Coliseum and Queen Elizabeth Stadium (including the Leisure Link Booking Office) and their URBTIX outlets	To close at 6pm
URBTIX outlet at HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity	Closed

January 25 (the first day of the Lunar New Year)
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Performance venues and URBTIX outlets	Opening hours
Ko Shan Theatre	6pm to 11pm
URBTIX outlet at Ko Shan Theatre	6pm to 9.30pm
Ko Shan Theatre New Wing and its URBTIX outlet	Closed
Other performance venues and their URBTIX outlets	Closed
URBTIX outlets at Tom Lee (Tsim Sha Tsui Branch and Wan Chai Branch), HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Youth Square, Tai Kwun and Parsons Music Yau Tong Branch	Closed

January 26 (the second day of the Lunar New Year)
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Performance venues and URBTIX outlets	Opening hours
Hong Kong City Hall Low Block and its URBTIX outlet	Open as usual
Queen Elizabeth Stadium	8am to 7pm
Leisure Link Booking Office and URBTIX outlet at Queen Elizabeth Stadium	Closed
Hong Kong Cultural Centre	2pm to 11pm
URBTIX outlet at Hong Kong Cultural Centre	2pm to 9.30pm
Ko Shan Theatre	6pm to 11pm
URBTIX outlet at Ko Shan Theatre	6pm to 9.30pm
Ko Shan Theatre New Wing and its URBTIX outlet	Closed
Other performance venues and their URBTIX outlets	Closed
URBTIX outlets at Tom Lee (Tsim Sha Tsui Branch and Wan Chai Branch), HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Youth Square, Tai Kwun and Parsons Music Yau Tong Branch	Closed

 
January 27 (the third day of the Lunar New Year)
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Performance venues and URBTIX outlets	Opening hours
Queen Elizabeth Stadium (including the Leisure Link Booking Office), Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong City Hall Low Block and Sha Tin Town Hall and their URBTIX outlets	Open as usual
URBTIX outlets at Youth Square and Tai Kwun	Open as usual
Ko Shan Theatre and its URBTIX outlet	To close at 6pm
Ko Shan Theatre New Wing and its URBTIX outlet	Closed
Other performance venues and their URBTIX outlets	Closed
URBTIX outlets at Tom Lee (Tsim Sha Tsui Branch and Wan Chai Branch), HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Hong Kong Arts Centre and Parsons Music Yau Tong Branch	Closed

January 28 (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year)
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Performance venues and URBTIX outlets	Opening hours
All performance venues and their URBTIX outlets	Open as usual
URBTIX outlets at Tom Lee (Tsim Sha Tsui Branch and Wan Chai Branch), Youth Square, Tai Kwun and Parsons Music Yau Tong Branch	Open as usual
URBTIX outlets at HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity and Hong Kong Arts Centre	Closed

  
     From January 24 to 28, the URBTIX Internet booking website (www.urbtix.hk) and the mobile ticketing app “My URBTIX” (Android and iPhone versions) will maintain normal services, and both the credit card telephone booking hotline 2111 5999 and the ticketing enquiries hotline 3761 6661 will maintain normal services from 10am to 8pm daily. read more

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department today (January 10) announced the special opening hours for its 13 museums (excluding the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, which is currently closed), the Oil Street Art Space, the Hong Kong Film Archive and the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre during the Lunar New Year holidays.

     Details of the opening hours are as follows:

January 24 (Lunar New Year’s Eve)
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     The Hong Kong Museum of History, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Space Museum, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, the Hong Kong Railway Museum, the Sam Tung Uk Museum, the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum, the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery, the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum, the Law Uk Folk Museum, the Oil Street Art Space, the Hong Kong Film Archive and the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre will close at 5pm.

January 25 and 26 (the first two days of the Lunar New Year)
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     All the aforementioned venues will be closed.

January 27 (the third day of the Lunar New Year)
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     Apart from the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, which will remain closed, all the aforementioned venues will open as usual.

January 28 (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year)
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     All the aforementioned venues will resume normal opening hours. read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, at a media stand-up after the Legislative Council (LegCo) Finance Committee meeting this morning (January 10):

Reporter: … and secondly on the Finance Committee dealing with the civil service pay rise, will you seek other ways trying to deal with the matter in LegCo?

Secretary for the Civil Service: First of all on the Finance Committee item, it is important for us to adhere to the established mechanism. I would hope that members of the LegCo will respect this and as soon as possible if they could go into detailed discussion of the item. Then we can have an early decision from the LegCo.

Reporter: …any disciplinary actions for those arrested civil servants? Would you sack them or penalise them?

Secretary for the Civil Service: As I’ve said, at this stage, the civil servants who had been arrested, out of the 41 arrested, 31 of them have been interdicted, so they have been suspended from service. In the event that they are convicted by the court, then we will initiate disciplinary action. And the result could be a sacking or could be a warning, depending on the severity of the punishment.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:

     The Finance Committee (FC) of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has projected that the HA will have the necessary financial resources to meet its recurrent expenditure and implement its current public housing construction programme and maintenance programme in the proposed budgets and forecasts for the period 2019-20 to 2023-24.

     The FC held a meeting today (January 10) on the HA’s proposed budgets and forecasts for the period 2019-20 to 2023-24. After the meeting, the FC Chairman, Professor Chan Ka-lok, said, “With the projected increase in construction expenditure and operating expenditure in the next few years, which will partly be offset by the subsidised sale flat receipts, the cash and investment balance of the HA is projected to decrease from about $43 billion at the beginning of April 2019 to about $35 billion by the end of March 2024.”

     Professor Chan added, “If and when there are changes to any of the budget assumptions, the projected financial position will vary. In the face of the upcoming uncertainties, the HA will have to remain vigilant and exercise prudent financial control, so as to achieve the public housing supply target and to ensure that public funds will continue to be used in the most cost-effective manner.”

     According to the established mechanism, the HA conducts annual rolling five-year budgeting exercises and assesses its financial position and future funding requirements.

     Based on the Long Term Housing Strategy Annual Progress Report 2019 announced by the Government last month, the public housing supply target for the 10-year period from 2020-21 to 2029-30 will be 301 000 units. In line with the established practice, the relevant financial implications will be reflected in the annual rolling five-year budgets as appropriate. 

     To achieve the public housing supply target, the Government has earmarked $82.4 billion (the balance of the previous Housing Reserve) in the fiscal reserves for the development of public housing and related infrastructure to demonstrate the Government’s firm commitment in this regard. 

     Today, the FC endorsed the HA’s Revised Budget for 2019-20 and the Proposed Budget for 2020-21. The FC has also noted the Financial Forecasts for 2021-22 to 2023-24.

     The HA meeting will examine the Budget on January 20. It will then be submitted to the Chief Executive for approval. read more

     A Vietnamese illegal worker was jailed by Shatin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday (January 9).

     During operation “Twilight” conducted on January 7, Immigration Department (ImmD) investigators raided a restaurant in Tsuen Wan. A male Vietnamese, aged 41, was arrested while working as an odd-job worker. An employer suspected of employing the illegal worker was also arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

     The illegal worker was charged at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. Meanwhile, he was also charged with one count of using a forged Hong Kong identity card and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. All sentences are to run concurrently, making a total of 15 months’ imprisonment.

     The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases. Under the prevailing laws, it is an offence to use or possess a forged Hong Kong identity card or a Hong Kong identity card related to another person. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
    
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee’s identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker’s valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.

     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments. read more