The Government announced today (November 15) the appointment of Dr Catherine Chong Shiu-yin as a new member and the re-appointments of Ms Gilly Wong Fung-han (ex-officio member), Ms Rebecca Chan Ching-chu, Mr Johnny Fee Ch… read more
A man who went missing in Kwai Chung was located. Cheng Kau, aged 64, went missing after he was last seen in a hostel on Shek Yam Road on November 13 afternoon. The staff of the hostel made… read more
The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, welcomed the passage of the Private Healthcare Facilities Bill by the Legislative Council today (November 15).
Professor Chan said: “The new Ordinance will further protect patient safety and consumer rights through the introduction of a new regulatory regime for private healthcare facilities (PHFs). It will also facilitate the sustainable development of the healthcare system.
“Four types of PHFs will be subject to regulation, namely hospitals, day procedure centres, clinics and health services establishments. We will commence the regulatory regime in phases based on the types of PHFs and their risk levels. Sufficient time would be allowed for existing operators to get prepared for the new regulatory regime.”
The registration for private hospitals under the new Ordinance would commence in 2019. The registration for day procedure centres and clinics are tentatively scheduled for 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance will be gazetted on November 30, 2018. As part of the transitional arrangement, an operator of a day procedure centre or a clinic in operation on November 30, 2018 will be issued with a provisional licence upon application for a full licence, provided that certain conditions are met. The provisional licence allows the day procedure centre or clinic concerned to continue to operate before it is qualified for the full licence.
“To safeguard public health, all operators who commence a private healthcare facility after November 30, 2018 should comply with the new regulatory regime, and apply for a full licence in accordance with the arrangement set by the Department of Health. The Department of Health will organise briefings for stakeholders on the details of the regulatory regime in the coming months,” she said.
The Government will allocate additional resources and manpower to the Department of Health for setting up a full-fledged Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities. The Office will undertake the relevant statutory registration and enforcement work.
Members of the public may visit the website of the Department of Health’s Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities (www.dh.gov.hk/english/main/main_orphf/main_orphf.html) to obtain the latest information. read more
Young soprano Alison Lau will give a vocal recital in January next year. The performance is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and forms part of the “Our Music Talents” Series.
Accompanying Lau will be pianist Alexander Wong, and together they promise the audience a delightful performance.
The programme will include Purcell and Britten’s “Sweeter than Roses”, “Fairest Isle”, “If Music be the Food of Love (3rd version)” and “Hark! The Echoing Air”; Gluck and Sgambati’s “Melodie”; Strauss’s “Die Nacht (Op. 10, No. 3)”, “Das Rosenband (Op. 36, No. 1)”, “Ich schwebe (Op. 48, No. 2)”, “Du meines Herzens Krönelein (Op. 21, No. 2)” and “Cäcilie (Op. 27, No. 2)”; and Duparc’s “Chanson triste” and “Phidylé” and more.
Lau received her master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston in 2015, after completing her bachelor’s degree at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2013. In 2012, Lau was selected as one of Hong Kong’s Young Music Makers by Radio Television Hong Kong, and she was a member of the Jockey Club Opera Hong Kong Young Artist Development Programme from 2015 to 2017.
Lau has won an Outstanding Performance Award at the Metropolitan International Vocal Competition in New York, first prize at the 10th Yokohama International Music Competition (Vocal Category) in Japan, and a Gerhart Hauptmann-Theater Special Prize at the 22nd Concorso Internazionale per Cantanti Lirici Spazio Musica in Orvieto, Italy. In 2017, she was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Secretary for Home Affairs in recognition of her musical achievements.
Highlights of Lau’s 2017 to 2018 season include her solo début in Germany with Brahms’ “A German Requiem”. Also her performance with Al Ayre Español in the Young Friends of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, a highly praised concert which led to an immediate invitation for Lau’s début at the Berlin Philharmonie. Lau also sang in a series of French mélodie recitals in Hong Kong and Taipei with the Music Lab, and continues to collaborate with Die Konzertisten in the Bach Pilgrimage Series and the HIP (Historically Informed Performance) project as soprano soloist. In addition, her début album with Universal Music Hong Kong was released this year.
The “Our Music Talents Series: Vocal Recital by Alison Lau” will be staged at 8pm on January 5 (Saturday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $120 and $160 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_581.html.
The LCSD is presenting the “Our Music Talents” Series to nurture and support local emerging artists and groups and provide them with performing opportunities, enabling them to develop and showcase their talent. read more
In response to media enquiries, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government made the following response today (November 14) to a report issued by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission:
“Since the return to the Motherland, the HKSAR has been exercising ‘Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong’ and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law. The ‘one country, two systems’ principle has been fully and successfully implemented.
“The Basic Law clearly stipulates that the HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Any suggestion for ‘Hong Kong’s independence’ is a blatant violation of the Basic Law and a direct affront to the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the PRC. ‘Hong Kong’s independence’ runs counter to the successful implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ and undermines the HKSAR’s constitutional and legal foundations as enshrined in the Basic Law. The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to freedom of speech, and such freedom is also protected by the Basic Law. However, relevant international human rights convention and court cases have clearly pointed out that freedom of speech is not absolute. The HKSAR Government has made clear that there is no room for discussing ‘Hong Kong’s independence’.
“For other issues mentioned in the report, including the Legislative Council By-election in March 2018, the handling of a fugitive surrender request made by the United States Government, and the co-location arrangement of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, etc, the HKSAR Government reiterates that it has all along been handling Hong Kong affairs strictly in accordance with the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, the Basic Law and the laws of Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government has also all along upheld freedom of the press.
“Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong is a separate customs territory and we remain committed to enforcing strategic trade controls. Hong Kong has, and will continue to maintain, close co-operation with the United States on the matter.
“The HKSAR Government expresses regret over the biased conclusions and unfounded accusations made in the report. The HKSAR Government reiterates that foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR.” read more