Tag Archives: China

     Three charities have been issued Public Subscription Permits to hold flag sales from 7am to 12.30pm today (November 10). They are, on Hong Kong Island, The Royal British Legion (Hong Kong & China Branch); in Kowloon, Yan Kwong Social Service Limited; and in the New Territories, the Society for the Welfare of the Autistic Persons, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said.

     Arrangements have been made with the charities to help people distinguish between the three flag-selling activities.

     Information on the three flag-selling organisations on November 10 is as follows:
 

Region	Name of Organisation	Colour of Collection Bag	Colour of Flag
Hong Kong Island	The Royal British Legion (Hong Kong & China Branch)	White	Red
Kowloon	Yan Kwong Social Service Limited	Blue	Pink
New Territories	Society for the Welfare of the Autistic Persons	Yellow	White

     For enquiries, please call the SWD’s hotline on 2343 2255, or the Charitable Fund-raising Control Team on 2832 4311 during office hours. Information on the flag days of the month is available at the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_whatsnew/). Permits for flag days containing contact information on the flag-selling organisations and information on the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_controlofc/sub_recentlyap/). For enquiries about the detailed flag-selling arrangements, please contact the individual flag-selling organisations.

     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities covered by Public Subscription Permit issued by the SWD have also been uploaded to the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising).
 
     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added. read more

     The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted the review report on China today (November 9, Geneva time).

     The UPR Working Group conducted a review hearing on November 6 to examine the third report submitted by China (covering the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions). A team of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government officials, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, attended the review hearing as part of China delegation.

     “The UNHRC Working Group has taken note of the commitment of and efforts made by the HKSAR Government in the promotion and protection of human rights in Hong Kong. Mr Cheung, in his capacity as Deputy Head of the China delegation, spoke at the meeting to clear the air on Hong Kong’s human rights situation. He reiterated that Hong Kong enjoyed a high degree of autonomy under “one country, two systems” and that fundamental rights and freedoms were all fully guaranteed by the Basic Law,” a Government’s spokesman said. The transcript of Mr Cheungs remarks and related press release were issued on November 6 (Geneva time).

     The review report is expected to be presented to the plenary session of the UNHRC for adoption in March next year. read more

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 9) for the debate on the Motion of Thanks (Session 5: Reinforcing Strengths, Enhancing Governance) in respect of the Chief Executive’s 2018 Policy Address:
 
     Mr President, the Honourable Dennis Kwok raised the nomination matter of Legislative Council (LegCo) elections. I would like to reiterate that, in accordance with the LegCo Ordinance and Electoral Affairs Commission regulations, the Returning Officer is required to decide whether a candidate of a LegCo election is validly nominated. The Government supports the Returning Officer to exercise their statutory power to discharge his/her duties under the law, so as to decide whether a nomination is valid. In accordance with the requirement under the law, the Returning Officer must endorse his/her decision on the nomination form. Copy of the nomination form is available for public inspection.
 
     Decisions made by the Returning Officer aim to ensure that the LegCo election is held in strict accordance with the Basic Law and other applicable laws in an open, fair and honest manner. There is no question of any political censorship, restriction of the freedom of speech or deprivation of the right to stand for elections as alleged by some LegCo Members. Hong Kong has a well-established judicial system. In fact, the existing electoral law has provided for the mechanism of election petitions to handle possible disputes arising from public elections.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the speech.)  read more

     To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the country, the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, will lead a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) delegation to visit Shenzhen and Beijing from tomorrow (November 10) to November 12.

     The delegation comprises over 160 members from various sectors of the community who have made significant contributions to the country’s reform and opening up and to Hong Kong. The HKSAR delegation list is at Annex.

     On arrival at Shenzhen tomorrow, the delegation will visit the Shenzhen Reform and Opening-up Exhibition Hall and meet with officials of the Shenzhen Municipal Government. In the afternoon, the delegation will head for Qianhai to visit the Qianhai Exhibition Hall and the park of the Qianhai Monument. After that, they will depart for Beijing.

     On November 11, the delegation will attend a seminar in Beijing co-organised by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on the participation of Hong Kong and Macao in the reform and opening up of the country in the past 40 years, as well as visiting the Palace Museum.     

     On November 12, the delegation will be received by the state leaders. It will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon. read more

     Hong Kong Customs today (November 9) seized a batch of suspected smuggled goods including batteries, hats and playing cards from a container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound with an estimated market… read more