Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Airport District this morning (November 21) in which a 61-year-old woman died.

     At about 9.47am, when a medium goods vehicle (MGV) driven by a 61-year-old man was travelling along Sky City Road East towards Sky City Road, it reportedly knocked down a 61-year-old woman.

     The woman was trapped under the MGV and was rescued by firemen. Sustaining serious head injuries, she was certified dead at scene.

     The MGV driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death. He is being detained for further enquiries.

     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, New Territories South is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 1300 or 3661 1346.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is calling on local artists to submit proposals for the Station by the Sea Residence and Exhibition Programme of the Oku-Noto Triennale 2020. The selected artist or art group will stay in Suzu, Japan, to explore its nature, history and culture, while connecting with locals and gaining inspiration for artwork creation and programmes.
 
     The Department is looking for site-specific proposals that resonate with the potential charm and rich culture of Suzu, as well as highlight the uniqueness of its distinctive natural environment and history. Genre of content is not limited to visual art, as proposals that encompass various fields such as design, handicraft, cooking and other cross-disciplinary media are welcomed. The proposals should be original and technically feasible at the site and related locations. A sum not exceeding HK$400,000 will be granted for the commissioned artist or art group, covering the cost of artwork production, organisation of public programmes and other related expenses during the residence period.
 
     Participants must submit a proposal before 8pm on December 31 (Tuesday). All proposals must be delivered to the Exchange and Extension Unit of the Art Promotion Office (APO) of the LCSD (Oi!, 12 Oil Street, North Point, Hong Kong) by post or by hand. The APO will announce the result in March next year.
 
     The Oku-Noto Triennale is set in the city of Suzu in Japan, which has inherited the rich culture and distinctive history of the northern area of the Noto Peninsula, but has been left behind by the urbanisation of the 20th century. The Triennale aims at revitalising Suzu; discovering its profound significance for the current era and developing future relationships among humans, nature and civilisation by means of art.
 
     The Oku-Noto Triennale will be held from September 5 to October 25 next year. The APO will collaborate with the Oku-Noto Triennale to feature the residence, exhibition and programmes of the selected Hong Kong artist or art group during that period.

     This project is organised by the APO. For details, please visit its website at https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/APO/en_US/web/apo/apo_delights.html or call 2512 3019, 2512 3018 or 2512 3020.
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

     Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     The Judiciary has announced that having regard to the situation in the vicinity of Jordan, subject to any directions of the presiding Judge or Judicial Officer concerned and until further announcement, all hearings of the Lands Tribunal and the Labour Tribunal originally scheduled from November 18 to tomorrow (November 22) and thereafter are refixed to a date and time to be notified by the court in due course. All relevant parties to the proceedings affected should keep in view any further notification by the court or public announcements by the Judiciary.

     For enquiries, please call the following hotlines after 8.45am:

Lands Tribunal: Hotline: (852) 3916 6147

Labour Tribunal: Hotline: (852) 3916 6148

     The registries and offices of the two Tribunals will remain closed tomorrow until further announcement.

     Hong Kong Customs seized about 3.4 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine with an estimated market value of about $1.57 million at Hong Kong International Airport on November 16.

     Customs officers inspected an air express parcel arriving in Hong Kong from Thailand on November 16 and found the batch of suspected methamphetamine concealed in 46 candy packages in the parcel.

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers yesterday (November 20) arrested a 64-year-old man suspected to be in connection with the case in Sham Shui Po.

     The arrested man has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (November 22).

     Customs will maintain close contact with Hongkong Post and the logistics industries to step up action against drug trafficking through postal parcels or express courier channels.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (November 21) expressed strong opposition to the passage of the Senate version of the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act" and another act on Hong Kong by the House of Representatives of the United States (US) Congress. The two acts will not only interfere in the internal affairs of Hong Kong, but will also send an erroneous signal to the violent protesters, which would not be conducive to de-escalating the situation in Hong Kong.

     A government spokesman said clearly yesterday (November 20) that the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act" and the other act on Hong Kong were unnecessary and unwarranted. They would also harm the relations and common interests between Hong Kong and the US.

     The spokesman said, "The US has enormous economic interests in Hong Kong, including earning from Hong Kong the largest bilateral trade surplus amongst its global trading partners for the past decade, and the surplus stood at over US$33 billion last year. Any unilateral change of US economic and trade policy towards Hong Kong would create a negative impact on the relations between the two sides as well as the US' own interests. Furthermore, Hong Kong and the US have close co-operation on export control and law enforcement."

     The spokesman added that the HKSAR Government hopes to continue to work with the US in maintaining a mutually beneficial co-operative relationship. It hopes that the US Government would also have this objective in mind and handle the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act" and the other act on Hong Kong prudently, avoiding making them into US law.

     The spokesman reiterated that foreign governments and legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR.