The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, visited Kowloon City District this afternoon (June 14).

     Accompanied by the Chairman of the Kowloon City District Council, Mr Pun Kwok-wah, and the District Officer (Kowloon City), Mr Franco Kwok, Mr Chan first toured the Stone Houses Family Garden in Kowloon City, a project of the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme.

     Mr Chan then proceeded to observe traffic conditions around tourist hot spots in To Kwa Wan, where he received a briefing by an officer of the Transport Department on the proposed measures to strengthen the management of the flow of tourist coaches. Afterwards, he visited the Ma Tau Kok Public Pier and the landing steps at King Wan Street to learn about the usage of the facilities and the relocation work of the landing steps.

     Mr Chan also viewed the works progress at the construction site of the Central Kowloon Route.

     Before concluding his visit, Mr Chan met with members of the Kowloon City District Council to exchange views on local transport and housing issues.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: 
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (June 14) the key analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund at the end of May 2019.
 
     Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, increased during the month by HK$9.9 billion to HK$3,602.7 billion.
 
     The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness, Government‑issued currency notes and coins in circulation, the balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to HK$1,623.6 billion.
 
     Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to HK$247.3 billion.
 
     The analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund are released in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and are referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS (Annex).
 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month.  Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).  The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of June 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (June 14) the progress made in its handling of banking complaints received as at end-May 2019.  Banking complaints include cases concerning general banking services and conduct-related issues.
 
     In May 2019, 187 cases were received and the handling of 191 cases was completed.  As at end-May, the handling of 433 cases was in progress. 
 
     A table summarising the progress made in the handling of banking complaints by the HKMA is attached.

     Police today (June 14) appealed to the public for information on a girl who went missing in Wong Tai Sin.
      
     Lee Man-hei, aged 15, went missing after she was last seen on Clear Water Bay Road near Choi Wan Estate on June 4 morning. Staff of her hostel made a report to Police on the same day.
          
     She is about 1.54 metres tall, 54 kilograms in weight and of normal build. She has a pointed face with yellow complexion and long straight black hair. She was last seen wearing a light green school uniform and black shoes.
      
     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing girl or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0316, 9886 0060 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.
     

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Council for Sustainable Development:

     At the invitation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the Council for Sustainable Development today (June 14) launched the public interaction phase of the public engagement on Long-term Decarbonisation Strategy. The public engagement aims to arouse public awareness on the impact of carbon emissions, and gauge the views of the community in developing feasible strategies for carbon reduction, with a view to making recommendations to the Government by the end of this year.

     Speaking at the press conference, the Chairman of the Council, Professor Arthur Li, said, "Climate change is an imminent global challenge. Mitigating climate change is not just for ourselves, but also for our children and future generations. Concerted efforts of the Government and civic society are required to promote and implement the decarbonisation strategy."
 
     The public engagement, adopting a bottom-up and stakeholder oriented approach, provides a platform to gauge public views. The Support Group on Long-term Decarbonisation Strategy, comprising experts and stakeholders from different fields, was formed earlier to assist the Council in planning and implementing this public engagement exercise.

     The Convenor of Support Group, Mr Lam Chiu-ying, announced at the press conference a series of public engagement activities to be held in the coming three months, including regional forums, a youth forum, school activities and briefing sessions. He encouraged members of the public to actively participate. 

     The Council also released a Public Engagement Document to highlight three main topics for public discussion:

* Transition towards a low-carbon society
* Reducing energy use and further decarbonising electricity generation 
* Low-carbon transport in a smart city 

     The public interaction phase of the public engagement will run until September 20, 2019. The Public Engagement Document can be downloaded from the Council's dedicated website (www.susdev.org.hk). Members of the public are invited to send the views collection forms (included in the Public Engagement Document) to the Council Secretariat via email (comments@susdev.org.hk), mail (46/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong) or fax (3150 8168).