The following is issued on behalf of the Liquor Licensing Board:

     The Liquor Licensing Board will meet on Tuesday (January 29) to consider six applications for new issue, renewal or transfer of liquor licences.

     The applications are (not in order of discussion):

Hong Kong:
——–
THE WINERY in Sai Ying Pun

Kowloon:
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"Yip Kee Dai Pai Dong" in To Kwa Wan
The Oak, LAVA 2 and H.OURS in Mong Kok
"Golden Dragon Club" in Sham Shui Po

     The meeting will be held at 9.45am in the conference room, Room 102, 1/F, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai. Members of the public are welcome to attend, except during the private session on confidential items.

     Police advise motorists that special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Sha Tin to facilitate the race meeting today (January 27).

     The arrangements will come into effect two hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.

     Appropriate traffic signs will be put up and police will be on hand to guide motorists.

     The Police also appeal to people going to Sha Tin Racecourse for the race meeting and to Happy Valley Racecourse for cross betting to make maximum use of public transport.

     Parking spaces at the two racecourses are available only to holders of appropriate permits issued by Hong Kong Jockey Club and any vehicles illegally parked will be towed away.  

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     During the winter surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate of medical wards in public hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. The occupancy rate of paediatric wards will also be provided from today onwards. Details are in the appended table.

     To nurture quality manpower in world cuisine, the Vocational Training Council's International Culinary Institute has been offering a variety of culinary arts training since 2014. Its new campus was opened in September 2018 in Pok Fu Lam, where students are trained up for a career in the fast growing and internationalised catering industry.
 
     News.gov.hk spoke to International Culinary Institute Principal Winnie Ngan and one of the graduates to find out about the new campus facilities and how the programmes will help to ensure a continuous flow of talent to serve Hong Kong.

     The story appears on news.gov.hk today (January 27) in both text and video format.

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) promoted Hong Kong films in the UK by sponsoring the Chinese Visual Festival to première Hong Kong screenwriter Sunny Chan's directorial debut "Men on the Dragon" on January 25 (London Time).
      
     The Director-General of the London ETO, Priscilla To, said at the screening, held at the British Film Institute Southbank, that this acclaimed and highly successful movie highlights the depth of film talent in Hong Kong and underscores the Government's efforts to nurture film talent, promote film development and build up the brand name of "Hong Kong Films". "Men on the Dragon" was a particular beneficiary of this, having been supported by the Film Development Fund.
      
     Sunny Chan, together with actor Tony Wu, attended the première and took part in a meet-the-audience Q&A session to talk about the movie. "Men on the Dragon" was shown as part of the Chinese Visual Festival's programme to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which in turn is part of the two-week long Chinese Arts Now festival, the first arts festival in the UK dedicated to British-Chinese art and culture.
      
     Speaking at the screening, Ms To said: "Despite the fact that Hong Kong is only a small city with a population of about seven million, it is one of the world's largest film production bases. It has always been and will continue to be a key priority area of the Hong Kong Government to support our local film industry. We have recently earmarked one billion Hong Kong dollars for injection into the Film Development Fund to boost the further development of our film industry."
      
     Further information on the Chinese Visual Festival and Chinese Arts Now can be found on chinesevisualfestival.org and chineseartsnow.org.uk.