The Government announced today (August 30) the appointment of five new members and the re-appointment of seven incumbent members to the Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee for a term of two years with effect from September 1, 2019.
      
     The five new members are Dr Amy Chow Yin-man, Mr Tang Wing-chun, Dr Century Tsang Hin-kei, Ms Gigi Tung Oi-lai and Ms Diana Wong.
      
     Dr Amy Chow Yin-man is the Associate Professor of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the Honorary Associate Professor of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and the Associate Director of the Sau Po Centre on Ageing of the University of Hong Kong. 
      
     Mr Tang Wing-chun is a member of the Kwun Tong District Council.
      
     Dr Century Tsang Hin-kei is a dentist. He is also the Vice-President of the Hong Kong Dental Association.
      
     Ms Gigi Tung Oi-lai is the Founder of Food Angel by Bo Charity Foundation.
      
     Ms Diana Wong is the Chief Executive Officer of Venchi HK Limited. She is also a member of the Committee on Community Support for Rehabilitated Offenders, the Advisory Committee on Enhancing Self-Reliance through District Partnership Programme and the Small and Medium Enterprises Committee.
      
     Seven incumbent members, namely Mr Kenneth Kwan Kin, Miss Peggy Lee Pik-yee, Ms Josephine Lee Yuk-chi, Mr Gordon Lo Siu-chung, Mr Luk King-kwong, Ms Luk Yim-ling and Mr Webster Ng Kam-wah, have been re-appointed.
      
     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, said that the appointed and re-appointed members came from a wide spectrum of professions and he looked forward to their valuable advice on the work of the Committee. He also thanked the five outgoing members, Professor Lam Ching-man, Dr Sigmund Leung Sai-man, Mr Timothy Ma Kam-wah, Ms Michelle Tang Ming-sum and Mr Stanley Yeung Chee-tat, for their support and contribution to the Committee during their tenure.
      
     The Committee, chaired by the Director of Social Welfare, advises on applications from welfare organisations for allocations from the Lotteries Fund and on charitable fund-raising issues including the allocation of flag days.
      
     The membership list of non-official members of the Committee with effect from September 1, 2019, is as follows:
 
Dr Amy Chow Yin-man
Mr Kenneth Kwan Kin
Miss Peggy Lee Pik-yee
Ms Josephine Lee Yuk-chi
Mr Gordon Lo Siu-chung
Mr Luk King-kwong
Ms Luk Yim-ling
Mr Webster Ng Kam-wah
Mr Tang Wing-chun
Dr Century Tsang Hin-kei
Ms Gigi Tung Oi-lai
Ms Diana Wong

     The Government today (August 30) announced the chairmanship and membership of the new-term Curriculum Development Council (CDC). Professor Tam Kar-yan is re-appointed as Chairperson of the CDC for a term of two years from September 1.
 
     Also appointed to the CDC are six new members. They are Professor Ching Wai-ki, Ms Hui Ha-mei, Dr Jacob Hui Shing-yan, Mr Raymond Kwok Chin-kon, Mr Shek Wai-keung and Professor Cindy Sit Hui-ping.
   
     In addition, 12 serving members, namely Ms Chan On-yan, Mr Eric Chan Sze-yuen, Professor May Cheng May-hung, Ms Chung Po-loi, Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming, Mr David Leung Yiu-fai, Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Dr Poon Po-chiu, Mr Joseph Tsang Chi-to, Ms Wat Ka-man, Ms Ayse Wong Oi-sze and Mr Wong Yu-leung, have been re-appointed.
 
     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, said, "Professor Tam is currently the Dean of the School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with profound experience in teaching, research and administration. Under his remarkable leadership in the past term, much progress has been made in the ongoing renewal of the school curriculum. In particular, Computational Thinking – Coding Education has been implemented in primary schools since 2017, and the curricula of Chinese History and History at the junior secondary level have been revised."

     He added, "The CDC is responsible for giving advice to the Government on matters relating to curriculum development from the kindergarten to senior secondary levels. Its membership comprises front-line educators and academics or administrators from tertiary institutions with profound professional knowledge in education, as well as professionals in the business and technology fields. Their active participation is conducive to providing professional advice on how to equip students to cope with local and global development needs for the future. The Education Bureau (EDB) will continue to give full support to the CDC in this regard." 
 
     Mr Yeung expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing members for their invaluable contributions to the CDC. They are Ms Kam Yin-ping, Mr Gyver Lau Kwok-leung, Mr Leung Yam-shing, Professor Ricardo Mak King-sang and Dr Pang Ming-fai. Mr Yeung also extended his deep condolences to the family of Ms Lam Tsz-ki, who passed away earlier this year.
 
     The full list of membership of the CDC with effect from September 1, 2019, is as follows:
 

     Rates and/or Government rent payers who have received the requisition form (R1A) issued by the Rating and Valuation Department are reminded to complete and return the form to the department as soon as possible. They can also complete and return the form by using the Electronic Submission of Forms service provided at the department's website (www.rvd.gov.hk).

     The department issued about 370 000 R1A forms to rates and/or Government rent payers this month to obtain rents and tenancy details for different categories of properties to assist in the determination of rateable values for the next general revaluation.

     Anyone having difficulty in completing and returning the form within the specified period must apply in writing for an extension of time before the end of the stipulated period and should state their reasons.

     Anyone who knowingly makes a false statement or refuses to furnish any of the particulars specified in the form commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $25,000 or $10,000 respectively and also a fine equivalent to three times the rates and/or Government rent undercharged.

     Rates and/or Government rent payers are reminded to affix sufficient postage if they return the forms by post to ensure timely and successful postal delivery.

     Enquiries on how to complete the form can be made by calling the number printed on the form, or visiting the department at 15/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon. The department's website also provides answers to commonly asked questions on completing the form.

     The Government announced today (August 30) that the Chief Executive, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, had appointed Madam Justice Lisa Wong Kwok-ying as a Panel Judge under the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance (Chapter 589).
      
     Under the Ordinance, the Chief Executive shall, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, appoint three to six eligible judges as Panel Judges to consider applications for authorisations of interception and Type 1 surveillance and for device retrieval warrants. Under the Ordinance, "eligible judge" means a judge of the Court of First Instance.
      
     The Chief Executive has appointed Madam Justice Wong to succeed Mr Justice Andrew Chung On-tak, who will retire from the Court of First Instance, as a Panel Judge under the Ordinance for a term of three years commencing September 4, 2019.
      
     Madam Justice Wong was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1988 and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore in 1995. She was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2006. She sat as Temporary Deputy Registrar, High Court, for periods in 2002 and 2003, and served as Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for periods in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013. She was appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2013, and was appointed as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2017.
      
     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, said, "Mr Justice Andrew Chung On-tak has been serving as a Panel Judge since the inception of the Ordinance in 2006. I am grateful for his dedication and commitment in handling law enforcement agencies' applications for prescribed authorisations under the Ordinance during the past 13 years. I am confident that Madam Justice Lisa Wong Kwok-ying, together with the other two incumbent Panel Judges, Mr Justice Mohan Tarachand Bharwaney and Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, will continue to draw on their expertise and experience to ensure the effective operation of the regulatory regime under the Ordinance."
      
     The Ordinance provides a comprehensive statutory framework for regulating the conduct of interception and covert surveillance by law enforcement agencies, and aims to strike a balance between maintaining law and order and protecting the privacy rights of individuals.

     Following is a reminder of the press releases on statistical data to be issued between September and December 2019. The schedule for issuing press releases on statistical data in 2019 was provided to the media in September 2018. No change has been made to the original schedule.
 

     The schedule for regular press releases in the other months of 2019 can be downloaded at the website of the Census and Statistics Department (www.censtatd.gov.hk/press_release/index.jsp).