The results of Primary One discretionary places for September 2020 will be released on Monday (November 18) by all government and aided primary schools.
 
     "There are 52 473 children applying for discretionary places in government and aided primary schools this year, of whom 23 340 will be offered a place in these schools," an Education Bureau spokesman said today (November 15). "A total of 13 211 are applicant children with sibling(s) studying or with parent(s) working in the schools that they have applied to, whereas the remaining 10 129 are selected according to the Points System."
 
     Parents are reminded to bring the parent's copy of the Application Form for Primary One Admission and check the results of their application between 9am and 5pm on Monday (November 18) or Tuesday (November 19) at the school to which they have applied. In view of the recent social situation, if parents cannot check the results at the school to which they have applied due to traffic or other special conditions, they may check the results on the school website or contact the school by phone.
 
     The registration of successful applicant children should be made on Wednesday (November 20) or Thursday (November 21) during school hours.
 
     Parents whose children have been offered a Primary One place are advised to note carefully the registration procedures and requirements of individual schools, such as bringing the parent's copy of the Application Form for Primary One Admission and the number of photographs required for registration purposes.
 
     "Parents who cannot register within the specified period due to matters of grave importance or traffic conditions should notify the responsible person of the school in advance to make alternative arrangements. Otherwise, they will be deemed to have given up their discretionary place," the spokesman said.
 
     Under the Primary One Admission System, each government or aided primary school may make use of about 50 per cent of its total Primary One places as discretionary places. The remaining 50 per cent will be reserved for Central Allocation at a later stage.
 
     "Parents of applicant children who have failed to secure a discretionary place or who have opted for Central Allocation only will be invited by the Education Bureau via letter in early January 2020 to make choices of schools for Central Allocation at a designated Central Allocation Centre on January 18 or 19. Primary One places will then be allocated to these children in Central Allocation. For applications for participation in Primary One Admission 2020 made after January 19, parents need to complete the necessary procedures with the School Places Allocation Section of the Education Bureau. The Education Bureau will separately arrange a Primary One place for the applicant children in June 2020," the spokesman said.
 
     "Parents should note that once their children have been allocated a Primary One place, they cannot take part in the Primary One Admission System again in future," he said.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (November 15) announced the test results of a recently completed seasonal food surveillance project on lap-mei. Around 140 samples were collected and all passed the tests.
 
     A CFS spokesman said, "Lap-mei is popular in winter and the CFS has therefore collected a variety of lap-mei samples including Chinese pork sausages, Chinese liver sausages, preserved duck meat and preserved pork from different retailers including online retailers for chemical tests and nutrition content analyses."
 
     Chemical tests targeted veterinary drug residues and preservatives usually found in preserved food including nitrate and nitrite, as well as other food additives which may be used in the production process such as sulphur dioxide and colouring matters. For nutrition content analyses, the contents of energy, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium and sugars of the samples were tested to see if they were consistent with their declared values on the nutrition label.
 
     "Members of the public should maintain a balanced diet and avoid excessive consumption of lap-mei in view of its nitrate/nitrite level and potential risk of nitrosamine, as well as relatively higher sodium, sugar and fat contents in some lap-mei. Infants are highly susceptible to nitrite toxicity and should avoid consuming lap-mei. The intake of lap-mei among young children should also be restricted.
 
     "Furthermore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified processed meat as 'carcinogenic to humans' (Group 1). The public should avoid excessive consumption of processed meat to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer," the spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman also advised the trade to comply with the legal requirements, follow good manufacturing practice and use permitted food additives in an appropriate manner. Retailers should source food from reliable suppliers and maintain a good recording system in accordance with the Food Safety Ordinance to allow source tracing if needed.
 

     Up to this morning, Tolo Highway had been maliciously blocked. For the safety of citizens and road users, Police have worked with other Government departments to clear the debris on Tolo Highway. Parts of the southbound and northbound Tolo Highway have been re-opened.
 
     Police appeal to all members of the public not to throw any object off the bridge or conduct any illegal acts posing threat to road users. Due to the current situation, drivers are advised to stay tuned when they pass by the location concerned.
 

     â€‹The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (November 15) expressed outrage at the attack on the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, which injured her while she was attending an event in London yesterday (November 14, London time). Pointing out that the attack was barbaric and violated the principles of a civilised society, Mrs Lam said the act should be strongly condemned. She expressed hope that the local police will follow up on the case thoroughly to bring the offenders to justice.

     For days, rioters have been inflicting extensive damage to various districts, and blocking multiple key public routes and harbour-crossing facilities. These acts pose a serious threat to public safety and order. Up to 10am today (November 15), Tolo Highway had been maliciously blocked for over 60 hours, seriously obstructing emergency services and movement of residents in the New Territories.
      
     Police are aware that rioters claimed they would re-open part of the southbound and northbound Tolo Highway at around 6am today to facilitate temporary resumption of traffic. Nonetheless, the highway is still blocked by miscellaneous objects and shattered glass, posing a serious threat to road users’ safety.
      
     When the relevant Government departments attempted to clear the debris on the highway, some rioters used bows, arrows and other hard objects to intimidate the contract workers. Since the highway is still filled with hard objects and devoid of any road signs or traffic cones, re-opening the road would certainly cause danger to road users.
      
     As Tolo Highway remains blocked, to protect the safety of citizens and road users, Police are making immense effort to liaise with other Government departments to remove the debris in a bid to resume normal traffic as soon as possible.
      
     Police express deep regret that the rioters continue to paralyse transport network and blatantly disregard public concern. Police once again appeal to the Chinese University of Hong Kong to keep their promise and help restore social stability and road safety.