The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region today (October 17, Chung Yeung Festival) held an annual official ceremony at the Hong Kong City Hall Memorial Garden in commemoration of those who died in the defence of Hong Kong between 1941 and 1945.
 
     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, attended the ceremony and laid a wreath.
 
     Senior government officials, representatives from the Judiciary and members of the Legislative Council and the Executive Council were also present at the ceremony. They were joined by representatives of Central People's Government organisations in Hong Kong, members of the Consular Corps concerned, religious leaders, community dignitaries, former members of the Hong Kong Independent Battalion of the Dongjiang Column, war veterans' groups, uniformed groups and student groups.

     Hong Kong will showcase its role as a strategic gateway and important hub connecting China to the world at the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

     The CIIE, to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, is the world's first national-level Expo with imports as the theme and is a significant move by the Central Government to actively open the Mainland's markets to the world.

     The Expo is jointly organised by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. The World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization are organising partners.

     The Expo consists of the Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment, the Enterprise and Business Exhibition, and the Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum which comprises an opening ceremony, three parallel sessions and the Hongqiao International Business Media and Think Tank Forum.

     A Hong Kong Exhibition Area will be set up by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government inside the China Pavilion of the Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment.

     Multi-media technologies including an OLED transparent touch screen, mixed reality, holograms, 3D mapping, an interactive magic book and a naked eye 3D display will be used to showcase Hong Kong's strengths, major infrastructure projects, popular tourist attractions, and products and inventions.

     Hong Kong's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, its contributions to the reform and opening up of the country, and the implementation of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law will also be major themes.

    "Daily Highlights" performances at the Hong Kong Exhibition Area will showcase Hong Kong's unique culture and will include a harmonica ensemble, an a cappella group, Chinese-Western music crossover, Cantonese opera excerpts and fashion shows.

     The Home Affairs Bureau has recruited more than 20 Hong Kong youth volunteers from Hong Kong and Shanghai to take part in the CIIE.

     To fully demonstrate Hong Kong's products and professional services, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has helped arrange for Hong Kong enterprises and related organisations to participate in the Enterprise and Business Exhibition covering both trade in goods and services.

     For goods, 22 Hong Kong food enterprises including renowned local brands have registered to take part via the HKTDC, while the HKTDC has helped 15 enterprises or service organisations to take part. Together with other enterprises which have registered for participation with the organiser directly, more than 160 Hong Kong enterprises will take part in the exhibition.

     The opening ceremony of the CIIE will be held in the morning of November 5 while the three parallel forums will be held that afternoon on "Trade and Opening", "Trade and Innovation" and "Trade and Investment".

     The Trade and Industry Department and the HKTDC will hold a sub-forum entitled "Seminar on 'Hong Kong's Experiences for International Trade': New Horizon•New Technology•New Model" on November 6.

     To highlight the role of Hong Kong's services sectors in international trade, a number of trade leaders from the innovation and technology, finance and legal sectors have been invited to discuss topics including the application of big data, support for cross-border businesses provided by Hong Kong financial services and risk management by Hong Kong professional services.

     The Department of Justice (DoJ) is currently co-organising the Investment Law and Investor-State Mediator Training Course, the first investment law-cum-investment mediation training course in Asia, together with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Asian Academy of International Law. 
 
     With the conclusion of the investment agreement under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) on June 28, 2017, which provides mediation as a means of dispute resolution, the training course is one of the DoJ's initiatives towards developing Hong Kong into an international investment law and international investment dispute resolution skills training base. The goal is to build up a team of investment mediators in Asia to handle international investment disputes.
  
     Topics covered in the training include the fundamentals of investment arbitration and its reform for investor-State dispute settlement, an analysis of main investment treaty cases and a study of mediation in the context of investor-State disputes. The training course also engages participants through role play in investment mediation, and explores topics such as mediation process consideration and stakeholder mapping analysis for case studies. 
 
     The week-long training course, which concludes this Sunday (October 21), attracted enthusiastic responses. Some 50 participants from around the world, including government officials from Mainland China, ASEAN countries, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Hong Kong, as well as local and overseas legal and mediation practitioners, gathered for this Asia premiere of intellectual and professional exchange in these subject areas.
 
     The training course included a stellar line-up of participating trainers, comprising experts from the ICSID and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution as well as experienced practitioners and academics in the field. 
 
     As another initiative to promote the use of mediation in Hong Kong, the DoJ partnered with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – Hong Kong to bring the ICC mediation competition to Hong Kong and Asia for the first time. The inaugural ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition – Hong Kong drew the participation of 16 teams from universities of different jurisdictions to compete in simulated commercial mediations, who were judged by top-notch local and overseas mediators and judges. The City University of Hong Kong team outwitted all other teams and emerged victorious from the finals held on October 15.
 

     Dragages Hong Kong Limited, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited, VSL Hong Kong Limited, Hin Sum Construction Company Limited, Super Engineering (HK) Limited and Hin Sum Manpower Company Limited were fined $82,000, $82,000, $82,000, $20,000, $20,000 and $40,000 respectively at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (October 16) for violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department.
      
     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on October 27, 2015 at a construction site of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Hong Kong Link Road. A worker, whilst assisting the lifting of a metal case on the loading platform of a lorry-mounted crane, was trapped between the metal cage and the vertical metal frame behind the driving cabin of the crane. He subsequently passed away.

     "Tree of Codes", a boundary-crossing creative work that brings together the talents of multi-award-winning choreographer Wayne McGregor, musician Jamie xx and visual artist Olafur Eliasson, will open the New Vision Arts Festival (NVAF) on October 19. Making its Asia premiere in Hong Kong, "Tree of Codes" is a groundbreaking production that combines literature, sculpture, architecture and spatial design with performance.
 
     "Tree of Codes", taking inspiration from the novel of the same name by American author Jonathan Safran Foer, is performed by dancers from the UK-based Company Wayne McGregor and guest artists. It was first staged as part of the Manchester International Festival in 2015 and has gone on to receive rave views wherever it has been presented.
 
     In creating the intriguing book, Jonathan Safran Foer literally carved out words from Bruno Schulz's "The Street of Crocodiles" – a collection of short stories published in the 1930s – to produce a "sculpted book" with a fresh story to tell. Wayne McGregor, the British director and choreographer of the show, has added a stunning twist to the tale with an immersive reinvention in movement that tests the physical limits of the performers.
 
     The stage design by Olafur Eliasson uses intricate sets of reflective, transparent and refractive surfaces and coloured light to create a dynamic, ever-evolving and complexly layered space in which the dancers are multiplied and overlap, while Jamie xx employs a tailor-made surround-sound system to create uncharted sonic realms, offering audience members an extraordinary dance performance with eye-catching visuals.
 
     Wayne McGregor is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor in London, which encompasses his extensive creative collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He is also the Resident Choreographer at the Royal Ballet, where his productions are acclaimed for daring reconfiguring of classical language.
 
     Jamie xx is a British composer, music producer and remix artist and is also one of three members of The xx, whose self-titled debut album won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. He has toured widely, both as a member of The xx and a solo artist.
 
     Olafur Eliasson is a renowned visual artist who works in a wide range of media from installation, painting and sculpture to photography and film.
 
     "Tree of Codes" is the opening programme of the NVAF. It will be held at 8pm on October 19 and 20 and at 3pm on October 21 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Tickets priced at $180, $280, $380, $480 and $580 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999.
 
     Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the biennial NVAF, celebrating its ninth edition this year, will be held from October 19 to November 18. For programme enquiries and discount schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk.